RuleBreakers
by LethalCrown
Summary: In which the seven demigods (Plus Reyna and Nico) find another reality, filled with secrets and startling revelations. Contains lots of... cats. As anyone who reads my fics knows, be warned, there are lots of cats. Rated T because I think that there will be violence included that kids really shouldn't read, and I don't want to be responsible for nightmares.
1. Chapter 1

RuleBreakers

Chapter one: Shackled

Lilac looked average.

She had brown hair and skin that was white, but not too pale. She had eyes that looked toffee at first glance, but then, if you looked long enough, seemed to take on a certain glimmering shimmer. She was polite to her neighbors, and if you asked anyone who lived in the apartment at 582 Clayton Ave. about the girl who lived in the penthouse, they would say she was nice, polite, perhaps 18 years of age, pleasant conversationalist, and so shy.

If you found a teenager with intelligent, catlike eyes who dressed simply in corduroy pants with a matching long sleeved shirt and a tiny cat logo in the same color on each shoulder and was impressively muscled, and asked about a certain girl who dressed in jeans and a lilac blouse and had toffee eyes, white skin, and brown hair, however, they would look at you with fear in their eyes and tell you straightaway that that girl was evil and dangerous and that you should stay away at any cost. Then they would dash off into the darkest alleyway they could find.

And, if you scoured the earth carefully for a little girl in an asylum and asked her about a girl fitting this description, she would look at you with wide, fearful blue eyes and say that that girl was evil, a demon from the darkest place, and the child would not stop there. She would go on to say that if you watched her long enough, she would work black magic, and change until she had a black leather jacket with red smeared on it that looked like fresh blood, along with a red leather skirt, wielding two whips made of scalding red light. She said that her eye color changed to red that glowed like a stoplight and her hair became black, like a wave of tar converting her hair into darkness. Saying such was what got this child locked in a mental institution in the first place.

But no one went to this trouble because no one would ever suspect anything out of the ordinary. It would be near impossible to find out anything about this girl unless.

Unless you somehow stumbled across an ArchWay. ArchWays were portals, of a kind, between the mortal world and a different one. This world was called dominarifecit irritum, or Rule Break. Those who lived there weren't people, not really. They were divine beings, not demigods, not gods, not mortals. They hadn't been born, in a traditional sense. They had been created, but not intentionally. They were different in many ways, but all shared one common similarity. They should never have come into being. They had been plagued by the gods for as long as any of them could remember, been feared because of their potential to usurp the domains of their unintentional creators. Eventually, they had come together as one group, to protect and provide solace to each other. Together, they swore an oath of loyalty to protect the weak, to value life, and to provide tolerance for others like them, who had no place else.

It was this order that Lilac hated with a passion. She had sworn her life to bring it down, to watch as these mighty, moral beings fall before her power. She would then take the one of them that she despised the most, he who had sworn to stand beside her forever, only to leave her when he saw her true aims. She would make him feel the deaths and the pain of all of his partial siblings she had slain and tortured throughout her years.

She was hunting Scorpio, of Serquet and Hades.

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The creepy lady with red whips was most definitely crazy, Percy thought.

He still didn't know exactly how it had happened. It was after their picnic lunch after the Necromanteion **( A.N. FYI, this takes place after chapter 77 in House of Hades, so Reyna is here) **and somehow, this teenager girl had snuck up behind them and they had all blacked out. When they woke up, they were all shackled to a wall in a dark, underground room with a different girl dressed in red and black standing across from them.

Piper tried to talk to her. "Hello."

The girl looked around, her face a placid mask, as if she was making sure she was alone. "Liber?" She asked.

Piper stared at her unsure. "What?"

"Liberites?" she asked.

"Uh, no," Annabeth said. "Demigods. You understand?"

"Demigod Liberites?" she asked again.

"Forget it," Annabeth grumbled. "What's your name?"

She looked around again, then shrugged. At that moment, a section of wall slid open and another girl strode in. She radiated power like a goddess, and was obviously in charge. She had a red leather skirt and tunic, and a black cloak that seemed to whisper as it skimmed across the stones that made up the floor of this dungeon-like room. She was flanked by two guards in red metal armor, who stood beside the door as she stalked over to stand in front of them. As she did, the girl, who was young and looked about ten, knelt to the floor.

"Thank you, Amarna," she said, her voice commanding. "You may return to your duties." The girl—Amarna—stood and scampered out of the room. The newcomer strode back and forth across the floor in front of them, and Percy got the feeling that it would be a very bad idea to try to talk to her. After a few minutes, she came to rest in front of them.

"I am Lilac," she said, then, as if having second thoughts, added, "You do all speak English, correct?"

Annabeth, as their go-to clever spokesperson, replied. "Uh, yes. Why does it matter?"

This seemed to amuse Lilac. "Well, there was that time I tried to speak to Chloe in Swedish, but it turned out she only spoke Polish. Go figure. Anyway, since then, I have been much more careful about languages."

Despite the conversational tone, Percy didn't trust her at all.

"What do you want?" Piper demanded. Lilac eyed her.

"What do _I_ want? Well, Anacaona dead at my feet, for one. Scorpio bound in chains, finally mine, as he always promised. The entire infernal society of RuleBreakers bowing to me, rather than their precious Anacaona. Anacaona broken, since I killed all her family. Are you detecting a theme here?"

All of the demigods stared at her in shock. Finally, Annabeth ventured, "Who is Anacaona?"

"My enemy for thousands of years," Lilac growled. "A curse upon the land. An insufferable moral cat!"

"Did you just say cat?" Percy asked incredulously.

Lilac stared at him. "Why, yes, I did.

"Who are you?" Reyna demanded. "And what do you want with us?"

"With you, nothing," said Lilac. "I mean, demigods in general help further my cause, but none of you are children of Nemesis, so the only use most of you could be to me would be extracting your pitiful power. I'm afraid, however, Gaia did tell me that if I delivered two demigods to die for her awakening, she would be most grateful, and would give me what I desire. A place in this world. I could have Scorpio, and Anacaona would die. I could command the RuleBreakers, and all the world. I could make the gods _pay. _Nothing personal, just an offer I couldn't refuse."

Percy swallowed hard. "Then what happens to the other seven?"

"Oh," Lilac made an airy gesture. "They won't die. Actually, I don't know what happens to their souls once I'm through with them."

"The least you could do is tell us who you are, and who these RuleBreakers are," Annabeth said, trying to stall for time.

"Prolonging your life?" Lilac asked. "Stalling for time? It makes no difference. However, I shall tell you, if only so that you know why you are dying." She stood in front of the demigods and began to speak.

**Ok, so here's chapter one of my new Percy Jackson fanfic. Like my others, there is no end in sight, and I am planning a series of one shots explaining all of the OCs that come later.** **Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to the reviewer! Sorry this is mostly just evil villain monologue, but I really couldn't think of any other way to give you the whole story otherwise. I'm going to try to do fairly daily updates on this, because I love this story. Please review! That's a sure way to get me to : I do not own any characters except my OCs, and even some of those my sister helped me come up with. Lilac and Scorpio, both are the ones she came up with all on her own, and she kind of started the whole thing. RuleBreakers was born when I was reading and she wanted to play, but I didn't want to play either demigods or Egyptians, so she said, lets do both. I however was the one who came up with the elaborate backstory and like, all the other characters. You ought to drop by her fanfiction page, she's Acemace 1507. **

**Another note: Technically I should make this a crossover between PJO and Kane Chronicles, but I could also call it a crossover between several other books, in later chapters. I will tell you those other books and the backstories of the characters that come from them later, but I do not want to spoil it.**

**Also, in case you didn't guess, the last chapter was in Percy's POV**

Hazel's POV

"Long ago, before the Greeks built their first city-state, before the Roman Empire was even imagined, there was another society that had lived for years in the desert around the fertile land that the Nile made lush. This land was the great society of Egypt, and long before your ancestors and predecessors looked to the heavens and found their gods in the stars, they were building great temples and monuments to their gods," Lilac began.

"Such a successful society didn't worship gods that did not exist, of course. The gods of Egypt are just as real as your own parents, and far more ancient."

Hazel felt the sinking feeling she had when she first discovered she was a demigod, and again when she found out there were Greek demigods too.

"You're saying that there are Egyptian gods out there too?!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Yes indeed," Lilac responded. "Far more numerous than your Greek and Roman gods combined."

"Are they threats?" Hazel asked.

Lilac appeared amused. "No more a threat than your own gods."

That didn't really comfort Hazel. Lots of gods and their children had seemed bent on killing them.

"Anyway, the civilizations were fairly separate," Lilac said. "And then came Alex the Stupid, or Alexander the Great, as you probably know him."

"Doesn't ring any bells," Percy said.

Lilac snorted. "Anyway, he wasn't Greek or Egyptian, he came from Macedonia, but it was his goal to conquer the world. He was a fairly egotistical jerk too, and he did conquer a lot of land. He kept naming cities Alexandria, after him. Anyway, he steamrolled through Greece, and thought they were practically geniuses, so he made all of the places he conquered fairly Greek in culture, and one of those places was Egypt."

Lilac began to pace back and forth, apparently agitated. "But his greatest crime was the mixing of deities. He had brought two societies together that were never meant to be compatible, to mix. He brought the gods of these two lands clashing into one culture, and from that collision, the RuleBreakers were born, called such disparagingly because they should not have been created, because their very births broke ancient rules regarding the separation of civilizations. Each RuleBreaker has a deity from Egypt and a deity of Greece as parents, of a sort. We were created from the essence and power of two colliding deities, and thus we are more powerful than any demigod, yet we have more diverse powers than any god, coupled with immortality."

Her eyes were full of anger, and she hissed out her next words.

"Our very parents, if they could be called that, turned against us. Fearful of those with strange powers, our Greek 'parents' turned against us, and the Egyptian ones were mostly more interested in clashing with the Greeks than caring for us. We grew up alone, fearful and suspicious."

"So why do you want to get these other RuleBreakers?" Annabeth dared to say.

"If the gods were so callous and uncaring about our lives, they do not deserve to be in command," Lilac replied brusquely. "I had schemes to overthrow them, and I brought my plans to Anacaona. She was powerful, even then, although nonviolent for the most part. She was of Poseidon and Bastet, the god of the sea, and the goddess of cats. But she has the temperament of her mother, not her father." Lilac sighed. "Such is the curse of the RuleBreakers. We try to escape our parents influence, but so often, they clash. Either way, she was gentle, innocent and naïve, despite being hunted by her father out of fear. She said that she would not assist me. So I had to look elsewhere for help. And then I found Scorpio. He was one of the most powerful, of Hades and Serquet. He courted me, promised he'd do anything for me. He made me a cloak of the shadows and a crown of stars." Lilac looked at the wall, without seeing anything.

"And, when I told him my goals, he betrayed me and said he'd never work with me. He said that he'd alert the other RuleBreakers to stand against me, that I'd never succeed. Well, I did the only thing I could do. I left him for dead with my Chaos magic seeping like poison through his veins." Lilac shrugged.

"But then that infernal Anacaona came along and healed him the best she could, alleviated the symptoms until she found a more permanent cure. She then joined him and other RuleBreakers to oppose me." Lilac hissed air between her bared teeth. She looked murderous, feral.

"You really are evil," Hazel whispered.

"What do you expect, from a RuleBreaker of Set, god of evil and chaos, and Nemesis, goddess of revenge?" Lilac gave a smile with barely concealed menace in it.


	3. Chapter 3

**I didn't get any updates, but I'm posting this extra-long chapter anyway in the hope to get some. Note: This story is kinda kane chronicles crossover, but you do not need to have read them to read it.**

**Disclaimer: I own Anacaona, Libertita and Adderley, and Dendera, and Deidre, and Eric, and James, and my sister created Lilac. I own no other characters as of right now, but know that there will be pretty much a whole society of OCs.**

**PLEASE review. I need reviews to write like a Liberite needs freedom to exist.**

Suddenly, there was a pounding overhead, and shrieks echoed through the building. Lilac arched an eyebrow at her guards, one of whom ran out to determine the cause of the problem.

A moment later, there was an ear-piercing wail and louder thumps, coming down what sounded like stairs, towards the cell/room/dungeon. The door swung open for three people, two in red armor and one shackled girl fighting tooth and nail to escape their vicelike grips on her arms.

They wrestled her to the wall, despite her thrashing, kicking, and even biting, trying to prevent her imminent capture even as she was chained to the wall.

Both armored figures knelt before Lilac.

"Lady, we discovered the intruder and subdued her," the first figure said, before adding, in a lower tone, "She appears to be one of the Liberites."

"Thank you, Eric, Deidre," Lilac gestured to the side. Deidre left and Erin went back to the door. Lilac strolled over to face the girl.

She was barefoot and dressed in white corduroy pants that were torn and streaked with blood from her struggles against the guards. She also had on a long sleeve white shirt that was similarly damaged. She had long, straight red hair that seemed to form a tabby pattern as it fell down her back, although it was ruffled, and glowing emerald eyes that stared up at Lilac with loathing.

Lilac looked back at her with amusement and pleasure, as if someone had given her a gift. "Why, if it isn't Libertita Victoria Gatita Columbus, leader of the Liberites, chosen of the children of Libertas, second to Anacaona, blessed of Bast, daughter of Libertas."

Libertita stared back at her defiantly. "Why, if it isn't Lilac, betrayer of Scorpio, thoughtless killer of Alexis, ruthless murderer of Mryori, soulless torturer of Miriam, Yggdrasil, Chloe, Zariah, and Theo, homicidal maniac."

Lilac chuckled, without humor, a dark, malicious laugh. "Well, Demigods, here is one of the RuleBreaker Order, one of the Liberites, the Children of Libertas, the Roman goddess of Liberty. A demigod. Not long after they banded together, they started recruiting demigods to aid them in fighting me."

"Not true!" Libertita shouted. "We are not bound to fight you! We came to the order for freedom, to start over! We fight you because it is our duty to see that no more of our siblings and friends are killed, hurt, injured, tortured, maimed, or traumatized by you! We came to the order for the tolerance and love Anacaona bestows upon all, like we are all her siblings! She is the parents we've never had, the siblings killed by you, the loyal friend through anything! She is our leader through unanimous agreement!"

"Hmm," Lilac said, the corners of her mouth twitching up in and evil grin.

"All right, so why have you come? Vengeance? I would say because of Alexis, but none of you children of Libertas ever seem to stay dead. How many times have my minions 'killed' you, Libby? Seventeen? Eighteen?"

"Thirty four," Libertita retorted through gritted teeth. "Not counting the twenty seven times I was accused of being a witch and either drowned or incinerated. And don't call me Libby!"

"But I thought everyone did," Lilac replied with a false sweetness in her tone.

Libertita rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "No. Only people I trust."

"Oh, like that son of Apollo who was captured here with you?" Lilac goaded.

This prompted her to thrash harder against the wall, straining to get to Lilac. Probably to punch her, Hazel guessed. Or kill her, from the look on her face.

A moment later, there was the clank of armor again, and another armored figure raced down the stairs and spoke quickly and hurriedly into Lilac's ear before turning around and leaving just as quickly.

Lilac glared at Libertita. "You have led your people here!"

Libertita gave a smug, superior smile. "I'm far too clever to be just captured on my own, aren't I now?"

Lilac growled. "Eric, James, follow me."

"Who will guard the demigods?" The left guard protested.

Three people walked in, again in red armor, which was evidently a uniform. Lilac smiled.

"Dendera, Deidre, and Adderly will, of course," Lilac spun on her heel and marched out, her guards flanking her.

After a few minutes in which the guards seemed to be frozen, the one closest to the door removed her helmet, revealing straight, chin length brown hair and tanned skin. She stared at the demigods with piercing deep blue eyes, making her look far older than sixteen, her age.

"Dendera," The middle guard snapped. "Control yourself."

Dendera looked back at her, quirking her eyebrow. "Sisters we may be, Deidre, but I outrank you."

"Fine," Deidre growled. "_Colonel _Dendera, remember yourself. These are dangerous prisoners."

"Oh, I'm well aware," Dendera tilted her head and started towards Libertita, who was no longer straining to get free, but watching with an amused glimmer in her eyes.

"Do you have a key to these shackles?" Dendera asked the other two guards. The other one shook her head, but Deidre stepped forward threateningly.

"What in the world are you doing, Dendera?" Her eyes flitted around, suspicious and forboding.

"What is right," Dendera said coolly. "To honor Gizah."

Hazel stared at their guards, heart racing as she thought about what could be happening. Annabeth kept glancing back and forth between the guards.

"To honor _Gizah!" _Deidre shrieked, the helmet of her armor making her voice oddly shrill and high. In annoyance she tore it off and tossed it to the floor, where it clattered and rolled until it came to rest in the corner. Her hair was twice as long as her sister's although the same shade, and was curly and held back in a ponytail. They were clearly related, sharing the same skin tone and hair color, as well as having similar chiseled features, but while Dendera could be called beautiful, Deidre looked both younger, perhaps thirteen, and had slightly crueler features and colder, lighter blue eyes.

"Gizah had honor!" Dendera shouted, and Hazel got a tense feeling in the pit of her stomach, like when Jason summoned lightning too close for her taste.

"Gizah was a TRAITOR!" Deidre retuned, the volume of her voice doubling.

"Gizah was what a child of Nemesis should be!" Dendera tossed back. "She valued balance, justice, fairness!"

"You know, I have no idea why both of you keep referring to her in the past tense," Libertita interjacted. "She's not dead."

Both girls stared at her, and Libertita continued.

"She joined our order, Dendera. Would've told you, but I'm afraid that it's rather hard to make contact with a spy when she's in Lilac's Order. Oh, sorry, it's an ARMY, Colonel Dendera!" Libertita gave a trilling laugh.

Deidre looked at Dendera venomously.

"A _spy." _Her voice was quiet and deadly.

Dendera sighed. "Yes, sister. A spy."

"You are no sister of mine." Her quiet voice was far more terrifying and seemed to permeate the air with malice. "You will die and writhe in pain, begging for mercy at the feet of MY mistress, the great goddess, the eternal, the first, the most powerful, Lila—"

She was cut off suddenly as the other guard wrestled her to the ground, before her eyes rolled back in her head and closed, suddenly limp beneath the other girl, who stood and also removed her helmet, wavy, bright red hair spilling down her back. She had olive eyes and pale skin, and she smiled animatedly at the demigods, about fifteen years of age.

"Well, a Liberite willingly shackled. That's definitely a first," she said, her eyed dancing over Libertita. "I take it you don't require assistance to escape.

The look she received just screamed _'well, duh'_, and was fairly disparaging as Libertita raised her arms over her head and the shackles fell away, clattering against the wall.

"Great," Jason said. "Can't you just, you know, take all of these handcuffs off?"

"No," Libertita replied as Adderley snorted. "There is a reason, you know, that it is called my innate magic. It means that it is in every part of me, that my magic will fight for my freedom." She tilted her head. "It's true that some of my brethren can harness that power for outer use, but unfortunately, I can't do that well enough to free others from Lilac's dispeller chains."

"In English?" Percy requested.

Libertita sighed, then tapped the chains that bound his wrists. "These are dispeller chains. They allow you to bring power into your body, but not expel it, and they suppress natural tendencies. This can be particularly harmful to children of Nemesis," She cast her gaze behind her towards the guards, "because their anger is unable to be released and it ferments into much more sinister vengeance, and the natural tendency to keep balance in their emotional, mental, and physical state is suppressed, which can cause that vengeance to consume them."

She still received blank stares from half the demigods so she threw up her hands. "Let me put it this way." She focused on Percy. "In those chains, if you tried to summon water, you would probably drown, because the chains would suppress your natural tendency to resist drowning and you wouldn't be able to release the power that your soul converted into water which would make you drown without actually drowning, which is kind of paradoxical and makes no sense until you experience it firsthand."

Hazel was acutely aware of the cold metal against her arms. "Do you have any ways to get them off? I mean, are you here to help or what?"

Libertita stared at her. "Well, I actually came here to lead my people here, as Lilac guessed. We, the RuleBreakers, who are now actually made up of normal demigods, like you, demigods who have taken on an Egyptian deity as a patron, resembling a RuleBreaker in that they have power from a Greek or Roman and Egyptian deity. Although, it is also possible and has been done for the reverse to happen. An Egyptian Magician has come and taken on a Greek deity like a parent. I was a Roman demigod, a daughter of Libertas, goddess of Liberty, and I took on Bastet as my patron. The rest of us are either RuleBreakers who are Roman and Egyptian or Greek and Egyptian. We joined to fight Lilac, and by being purposefully captured, my friends were able to trace me to her base. Currently they are creating a distraction so we can escape, because, although we don't support the gods at all, they are necessary to maintain order in the universe. Besides, as Lilac is allied with Gaia, we see no harm in assisting you. If Gaia wins, we are essentially doomed."

"So how do you plan on freeing us, if all you've told us about these chains is true?" Reyna demanded.

"Simple." From around her neck, Libertita removed a talisman on a thin silver chain. It was a large silver disk with a golden key on it. Libertita placed it against the wall and it began to glow with white, shining, sparkling energy.

"This is a handy amulet that Jessica, Roman Rulebreaker of Janus, god of doorways/choices, and Neith, Egyptian goddess of war," Libertita explained. "Well, actually Neith is like a combination of Athena and Artemis. She's a goddess of war and weaving, like Athena, but she wields a bow and arrow to hunt, like Artemis." She took a stylus and inkwell out of thin air and began inscribing Latin lettering around it. Hazel craned her neck and caught one word. _Unlock._

"Won't Lilac be mad about the writing on her walls?" Leo asked.

"To be honest, I don't care," she said absently. "Lilac has killed four of my half-siblings over the years, as well as several other demigods I cared for in our order."

She stepped back, raised her palms to the wall, and began to chant.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it has been so long since I updated**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PjO, I just write fanfiction**

Annabeth's POV

As she chanted, white light snaked across the wall to the chains, spiraling around them and into the locks. The white glow grew brighter and brighter, until the demigods had to close their eyes. The intensity of the light doubled, and Annabeth could see vague outlines through her eyelids.

And then, all at once, the glow died away. Annabeth opened her eyes to find the glow was concentrated into the keyholes of the chains, and Libertita's eyes were narrowed. Her hands were glowing with Egyptian hieroglyphs, and she closed them into fists. There was a shattering sound, and the shackles blew up and disappeared into thin air. Libertita muttered a muffled curse.

"I think you overdid it, just a little bit," Adderley giggled. "Isn't it just supposed to unlock the chains?"

"It's not my ancestral magic, so sue me," Libertita growled as Annabeth massaged feeling back into her hands.

"Whatever." Dendera's lips twitched. "Who did you bring?"

"By which she means who's causing the distraction?" Adderley added.

"Triad of 1911, Winged Triad, Shadow Siblings, Matteo, Tybalt, and Latafet, Aslan, and Aysel," Libertita replied offhandedly.

"You brought Zariah and Miriam HERE?" Dendera stared in shock at Libertita. "After all that has happened to them, all of the centuries of suffering-,"

"They requested it this way," Libertita returned, placing the disk back around her neck where it pulsed once with light before disappearing. She crossed to the room and examined the lock. "Vengeance is not a trait purely exhibited by the children of Nemesis, you know."

"How you can make people sound like breeds of cats, I'll never know," Adderley shook her head, exasperation and amusement flitting across her face.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "So, thanks for saving us. But, I'm afraid I don't understand. Who are you, exactly? What are you, exactly?"

Libertita tapped the lock, which resonated with a dull hum, but didn't open. "As I said before, I didn't come to rescue you, precisely, but you're welcome in any case. Either way, I haven't gotten you out yet, so you might want to hold on the gratitude. As for who I am, I'm Libertita Victoria Gatita Columbus, as I believe Lilac said. You can call me Libby. I am a Liberite, a child of Libertas who has joined the order of RuleBreakers, and who tends to choose a breed of cats for her sacred animal, hence my connection with cats."

She slammed her palm into the lock. The entire door shook, but the lock didn't move at all. She frowned and pulled some wires out of her sleeve, picking the lock in record time. "For your information, I am not responsible for any injuries or fatalities you may or may not sustain in this escape. Lilac has killed many demigods far more powerful than you, and even one who was more powerful than me."

Dendura looked confused. "Laurel?"

"Mryori." Libby turned away from the door and examined her clothes. "Shame. I liked this shirt."

She tapped her waist, and a small golden spark glowed and began to spread across her clothing, transforming it into white leather armor, edged in diamond and gold. A helmet materialized on her head in the same color, but it didn't really look like a helmet. It didn't protect her face at all, and it had what appeared to be cat ears. An Imperial Gold sword hung in a scabbard at her side, with cats on the hilt.

The demigods stared at her, stunned.

"Does leather armor actually provide any protection?" Annabeth asked.

The corners of Libby's mouth twitched, a feline reaction. "It is enchanted, of course. But the fact is that, as metal would, it does not compromise my speed or agility, which are often the only weapons I wield, and thus enables me to still dodge danger, making it just as effective as metal armor when it comes to protection. At least, for me."

She traced her fingers around her eyes, golden Eyes of Horus appearing around them, giving her an even more predatory look.

"Okay, now it will be pretty chaotic up there. Our goal is to get to the ArchWay, which is on the west side of this fortress," Libby pointed west. "Follow me. Once we reach the ArchWay, you nine will return to our Order with us. Then the more powerful will hold a council and elect to either help you and send you back, or kill you, the first option being far more likely and the second has actually never happened."

"By never actually happened-," Jason started.

"It means that, while written in our Ancient Laws that our leaders reserve the right to eliminate threats who have come to gain too much insight into our order, it has never actually happened. The closest was Gizah, but since she was formerly in Lilac's army, it stands to reason that she would have more difficulty with our legal system."

Libby pushed open the door. "Remember, follow me, and whatever you do, do not let the Laser-like magic hit you."


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter contains characters from Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. I will explain more in the post-chapter note.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters or general plot, or the characters form Uprising, just my OCs.**

Jason's POV

As they followed Libby up twisting flights of stairs, Jason was really wondering whether or not she could be trusted.

She seemed nice. She had helped them escape. Yet the way she talked about her order made him wary, particularly the eliminating threats part.

As they emerged onto a wall, with what looked like towers along it-Lilac had evidently set up her base in a medieval castle-a girl in an old-fashioned beige top and skirt rolled out from behind what looked like a cannon and stood up.

She looked perhaps fourteen, and she had a long burn scar down the left side of her face. She was similar to Libby-she was thin, medium tall, and slightly feline. Her eyes were a light bronze, and she had olive skin and brown hair.

"Hello, my name is Bella. Hola, me llamo Bella. Ciao, il mio nome èBella. Bonjour-,"

"Bella, we all speak English." Libertita spoke mildly. "No need to translate."

"Okay," Bella bounced lightly on her toes. "The Winged are fighting Lilac, but I don't know if they're succeding or not. Matteo and Tybalt are calling for reinforcements. The others are fighting Lilac's army."

"Yetta and Jane?" Libby asked.

"They're fine," Bella looked nervous. "At least, I'm pretty sure."

"Go find them," Libby spoke gently. "I'm fully capable."

"Excellent." Bella made as if to walk away, then turned. "And what about our spies?"

"It's time for them to come with us."

Bella blinked. "They'll protest."

"So be it." Libby stared at her. "They are part of our order, and it is far too dangerous. Once Deidre awakens, all are endangered."

Bella nodded decisively. "Jane can persuade them."

"Find your triad."

Bella darted away.

Libby turned back to them. "The ArchWay is on the other side of this compound. If we follow this wall, we'll get there eventually. Do not engage any of these soldiers unless I tell you to. Many are our spies, and many others can be tricked. Also, try not to make much noise."

Annabeth looked annoyed. "Well, how are you so quiet and stealthy, then?"

"I have taken ballet and gymnastics for approximately five hundred years." Libby fixed her with her penatrating gaze. "I am as stealthy, quick, and strong as a feline. I can run at speeds of up to thirty miles per hour, and I can jump up to six times my body height. I can use a sword, staff, dagger, knife, dart, and spear with equal skill and speed. I am, quite literally, a cat, from my retractable fingernails to my impeccable night vision. It is ingrained into my lightning-quick reflexes and etched into my genetics."

Everyone stared at her. "Any other questions? No? Good. Follow me."

She turned and silently paced along the wall, followed reluctantly by the demigods. They came to a section of wall overlooking a courtyard, and Jason stared at the strange scene.

Lilac stood on a circular platform, surrounded by red armored soldiers, who fought other people-children of Libertas, Jason assumed, as they had the same general body type as Libby. There were a couple soldiers fighting others, and these, Jason assumed to be the spies. He spotted the girl Lilac had called Amarna, sword in hand, fighting one of Lilac's guards. As he watched, Lilac turned and blasted her with a beam of red light. She flew through the air and fell near the group. Libby ran to her side.

But the strangest part of the scene was what Jason guessed were the ones that Libby had called the Winged. Because they appeared to be people with wings.

One was in a green tunic and leggings, hovering near them. Her brown hair was braided back out of her determined face, and she held a glowing, translucent green sword, with a golden grip.

"Peridot," Hazel murmured. At Frank's confused look, she added, "Her sword. It's made of Peridot."

The most amazing part was that, from the girl's shoulder blades, sprouted a set of green feathered wings, with spots of red feathers near the top. On her shoulder was a green parrot with a red spotted head. She shouted in an unrecognizable language and darted down to attack Lilac, dodging similar bolts of red light fired from her hands.

There were others. Two girls perched on the building across, wings spread, one with wings in shades of red yellow, and orange, and the other with shining black ones. A fourth attacked Lilac from the other side, with eagle wings, while a boy in black leather armor leaned against the wall, white wings with bands of pastel colored feathers folded across his back.

"She's your sister."

Jason nearly jumped out of his skin when the unfamiliar voice spoke. He turned to see a girl in white with large white wings standing beside him. The most disturbing thing was, she looked extremely familiar, and not in a good way.

She wore clothes similar to the girl in green, albeit in white, but they were embroidered with snowflakes. Her glossy black hair was braided into a crown on her head, and, although she looked about twelve, he recognized her.

"Khione!" Piper spat from beside him.

The girl laughed. "Nope. I'm Chloe. Chloe Copernicus. Daughter of Khione."

Jason had his sword out and at her throat in an instant. "What do you want?"

"If you could take your blade away, that would be much appreciated," she snapped, icy blue eyes flashing. "I don't exactly appreciate being judged for my parentage."

Jason hesitantly lowered his blade. "Sorry, I guess."

"Thank you." She smiled, but her eyes were still cold. "I would've had to turn you into a penguin if you tried to kill me. And that takes far too much of my energy. Besides, Nicole doesn't like penguins. Well, she likes to eat them, actually, so-"

"Who's Nicole?" Percy interrupted.

She turned. "My snow leopard, of course! I also have a swan named Elsa and a polar bear named Galileo."

"Elsa?" Jason asked at the same time as Annabeth said, "Galileo?" incredulously.

"Yep." Chloe shifted her weight. "Elsa, after the cryokinetic character in Disney's _Frozen,_ and Galileo after the astronomer, invented the telescope dude."

"What do you mean by-," Jason began.

Chloe jerked her chin towards the girl with eagle wings. "Her. She's your half-sister. Yelena Troyova, Daughter of Zeus. Or, as everyone calls her, Helen of Troy." Chloe giggled. "It annoys her to no end!"

Libby cleared her throat, and Chloe jumped. "Fascinating, Chloe, but there's a battle going on, and your triad needs you."

"Sure." Chloe glanced at the battlefield. "Where's Torah?"

"Look for her," Libby growled.

Chloe started to grin. "You're still mad at me, aren't you?"

"No _idea_ what you're talking about." Libby carefully avoided her eyes.

"Just because you can neither text, hang up, nor change your cell phone ringtone-," Chloe started.

"I do not appreciate your childish pranks, Copernicus!" Libby hissed and shoved her hand forward. Chloe jumped backwards off the wall, wings flapping, and dove towards the fight.

"Who-," Piper began.

"Another demigod of our Order," Libby said. "She enjoys playing juvenile pranks."

Amarna was standing beside Libby, and Adderley walked over to her, picking up the young girl. "We'll get the other spies to the ArchWay. Come on, Dendera."

The children of Nemesis walked away, and Libby sighed. "I talked to my brother. He says reinforcements are coming, but not soon enough."

As if on cue, one of Lilac's blasts found their mark, singing the wings of the girl in green, who spiraled out of control and landed in the courtyard, wielding her sword against the soldiers who swarmed her like ants.

The demigods resumed sneaking along the wall, led by Libertita. They came around the corner to face a patrol of ten soldiers. For a moment, all stood frozen. Then, the soldiers attacked.

**OK, so Bella, Yetta, and Jane are all characters from Uprising. I didn't make them up. The reason that this is not posted as a crossover is that I may include characters from Kane Chronicles as well, perhaps some from other books.**

**In another fanfic I will tell more about these characters, but here is the general idea of these characters from Uprising. DO NOT READ THIS NEXT PART IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK UPRISING IN CASE YOU PLAN ON READING IT!**

**IT is historical fiction and takes place in 1910-1911**

**Bella is an Italian immigrant who works in the triangle shirtwaist factory. She goes on strike and survives the fire.**

**Yetta is a Jewish immigrant from Russia who is a very fervent striker, and she dies in the fire according to the book. However, in my version she was saved by the Liberites.**

**Jane is the daughter of a wealthy business man who sees the girls striking and, when she discovers her father's wealth came from exploiting workers, she leaves to live with Bella and Yetta. She also perishes in the fire in the book, but in my version, she was saved by the liberites.**

**The three of them pledge to be comari, which Bella says means very close friends in Italian, but google Translate says it means wives.**

**In my version, they were children of Libertas, the roman goddess of liberty, who survived the fire and joined the Order.**

**I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS! I just decided to incorporate them because in my eyes, those who joined the strike for working conditions etc. were brave and awesome and changed this country, and they deserve to be immortalized in an order which eternally fights for freedom and equality.**

**Also, in Spanish, Liibertita means Little Liberty, an appropriate name for a strong child of libertas.**

**Liberites are an members of the order who fight for freedom. They are mainly children of libertas.**

**Sorry for the impromptu language/history lesson. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's another chapter. By the way, Winged is pronounced like you say the word wing, then you say ed separately, not as one syllable. **

**Disclaimer: I only own my Ocs**

**Sorry if I spend too much time describing the appearances of my OCs**

Libby had her gold sword out in two seconds and immediately knocked the lead guard over the wall, his armor dragging him down. The second guard engaged her in combat and they whirled and clashed swords. It was an extremely quick fight, as Libby knocked her out with the flat of her blade.

The third and fourth guards spun to face their brethren, a fight with the next two, which they only won because they had the element of surprise. More spies, Piper supposed. The remaining four converged on Libby, who fought with a dexterity and agility that was, quite simply, amazing. She managed to incapacitate all four of them within a few seconds.

But the fight had alerted others to their presence, and several other guards ran towards them. Libby cursed in a language Piper didn't recognize, pacing along the wall muttering under her breath, eyeing the approaching soldiers. The two spies stood beside her, still in their red armor, standing erect although one was a head shorter than Libby and the other was about her height.

"How soon until the reinforcements you were talking about get here?" Hazel voiced their question.

Libby studied the sky. "I'll ask."

The soldiers were still scaling the steep stairs, so Libby pulled out a cell phone and hit a few buttons before placing it to her ear.

"Hi, Matt. Who did you call and when will they be here?"

The answer was evidently not what she was expecting. Surprise blazed across her face before the placid mask returned.

"Matt, why?"

She glanced at the guards who were almost to her now and cut him off. "Sorry Matt, have to go."

"Wait."

The answer came through loud and clear, and Libby looked up, suddenly tense. The air was charged with tension, and something was just a bit off. The fighting paused, as if everyone was holding their breath. The hexagonal courtyard fell silent, the ringing of metal on metal fading from clash to hum to silence.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning split the night. Actually, bolt wasn't probably the right word, it was more like a solid column of plasma and electricity falling from the heavens. It lasted a few moments, then faded.

Where the beam had touched down, there stood a girl who looked about seventeen, clad in a long yellow skirt and a gold armored chest plate accented with green. She was barefoot and had long blond hair braided over one shoulder. She tilted her head, staring at Lilac with ice blue eyes.

Lilac blinked, covering her astonishment with alarming alacrity.

"Alida, of Zeus and Renenutet." She shallowly bowed mockingly.

Alida returned the gesture with no hint of insincerity in her carefully neutral face. "Lilac, of Nemesis and Set."

"What brings you here?" Lilac questioned.

"A call." A voice spoke from behind the demigods, and they turned. The voice was slightly accented, and it sounded Greek. Standing behind them was a boy who looked the same age as Alida, yet far older, if his eyes were any judge.

At this newcomer, Lilac's eyes lit up, like those of a child on Christmas.

"Scorpio, of Hades and Serquet. How lovely that you should join us this evening."

Scorpio shrugged. "I don't join in, usually. But when Anacaona said that her Liberites had located your base, the opportunity was far too good to pass up."

"We do not belong to Anacaona," Libertita grumbled. "We protect her, we fight for her, we give loyalty to her, but we are not hers."

"Of course." Scorpio inclined his head towards her before turning to face Lilac. "Let our people and our spies go, and no more of your soldier's blood shall be spilt upon the earth whom you serve."

Lilac laughed, a harsh grating sound. "Of course not! Never! You will get what you came here for, Scorpio, a fight!"

"So be it," he said and spread his arms.

Someone materialized into existence between Scorpio and Alida, while three others, two boys and a girl, came down on the other side of the courtyard.

A nervous look flitted across Lilac's face for merely an instant. So quick Piper thought she had imagined it.

"The entire council?" Lilac looked amused with a hint of anxiety. "The most powerful of the RuleBreakers, the leading government body, just presents itself to me like a gift."

"Whether they are the most power is actually debatable," the Winged boy in black said. "Because for each power, there is a most glaring weakness."

"So what is yours, Aristotle?" Lilac turned to face him.

His face was closed. "I choose not to share my weaknesses with the general public, when the general public happens to be an army who really wants to kill me." He nocked an arrow and aimed it at her.

She shrugged. "Well, it could be that I don't have to know your weaknesses." A sly grin crept across her face. "After all, you must fear what every other Winged fears. Your wings being taken, mm?"

"I don't find that funny," Aristotle snapped coldly.

Lilac shrugged, then, without warning, thrust out her hand. Beams of red light encircled the compound, weaving tighter, into a cage.

The girl between Scorpio and Alida was dressed simply in blue-green corduroy pants and a matching shirt. She stepped forward.

"Anacaona, what is the plan?" Scorpio demanded urgently.

She pointed at him. "Take the demigods back to our base. All of them. This is a fight for the RuleBreakers alone."

Scorpio tersely nodded and raised his hands directly in front of him. Shadows elongated towards him and spun, hissing across the stones like serpents. Lilac saw what he was doing and pointed at him, the red beams bending towards Scorpio at her will.

"Too late," Scorpio said, the ghost of a smile on his lips. He brought his hands together, and the shadows he had gathered to him tore him and all the other demigods away into the darkness.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

It was so different from the time that Hazel and Nico had transported them out of the Necromanteion, Piper thought.

That had seemed barely controlled and felt like it was happening at a great speed. It felt like if she moved, she would be absorbed into the shadows and never see the light of day again.

This was so different from that she almost didn't believe they were shadow traveling.

There was a sense of control and power, security and ease that seemed so different. It didn't feel like it was speeding, it just felt like dissolving into the blackness and safety. It felt like there was an overarching mind, a dominant presence.

The dark power started growing, but it didn't precisely feel malicious. Then it grew overpowering, and Piper's mind faded into the darkness.

**Please, please, please review.**


	7. Chapter 7

Nico's POV

When they emerged from the shadows, Nico was the only one conscious. The others had collapsed partway through their shadow journey, overcome by the dark power.

Nico fell to his knees, panting, his head spinning. The sheer amount of power and force that had accompanied the travel had almost been too much for even him.

Scorpio offered him a hand, and Nico took it, standing and shaking away the headache. The other demigods were unconscious on the ground, and the Liberite demigods were nowhere to be seen. They were in a clearing in some forest, surrounded by tall, imposing trees.

"Sometimes I forget how fragile mortal demigods are," Scorpio said. "I'm actually rather surprised you made it."

"Will they be okay?" Nico demanded.

Scorpio looked distainful. "Oh, please. I might not be the best judge of people, but I do know my own strength. Most of the time. They'll wake soon."

Nico was not convinced. "Most of the time?"

"When I'm sane. And, trust me, you'd know if I wasn't." Scorpio studied his hands. "The last time I seriously lost control was ages ago, when the Black Death swept through Europe and decimated the population, although, admittedly, that was only partially my fault."

"But that was hundreds of years ago!" Nico exclaimed.

Scorpio stared at him. "And you were born in nineteen-thirty two. What's your point?"

"Never mind." Nico's mouth was dry. He could feel the dark power rolling off this demigod in waves, and he was slightly intimidated by it, although he tried not to show it. "How do you know when I was born?"

Scorpio's expression didn't change, but there was a slight change in his presence, like he knew something he wouldn't share. "Aristotle saw it."

"Who-," Nico began.

"You probably already saw him, unless you're blind," Scorpio said, waving a hand impatiently. "Black leather armor, white rainbow pastel wings, oddly colored eyes, long black bow. He's the RuleBreaker of Thanatos and Isis. Since half of his power came from Isis, he has extraordinary perception and is our best at scrying. Seeing things that happened, will happen, or are happening," he added in response to Nico's confused look.

"Wait, so-"

"He keeps tabs on all of my… siblings, for lack of a better word, as I am technically an immortal RuleBreaker, and not a demigod."

"But why?"

Scorpio stared at him. "A multitude of reasons, primarily the fact that Lilac seeks out our kind, that being children of the underworld, because our necromantic abilities are the easiest for her to absorb and convert to her chaos magics."

His head was spinning. "So you're the RuleBreakers?"

Scorpio gave what might have been a smile. "Yes. I hold standing, mostly because our council mirrors Olympus, in a way. Our government is run primarily by six RuleBreakers, the Council Core. They consist of two RuleBreakers of each of the Big Three: one Greek, one Roman, one male, one female. Then there are our Demigod Counterparts, demigods who have pledged their lives to our order and, in the event that one of us dies, in the loosest sense of the word, we could theoretically channel our powers into them, allowing them to continue our legacy."

Hazel stirred. Scorpio's eyes immediately picked up on her movement. "Of course she would awaken next. She lacks your power, but has potential for sorcery." He shifted his weight. "I will send a Liberite to accompany you to the council, once all of you have awoken."

"Wh-what's going on?" Hazel blinked and pushed herself into a sitting position. Her eyes jumped to the others, still completely out of it. "What did you do to them!?"

She staggered to her feet, picking up her sword and stepping towards Scorpio. He watched her, amused.

"Hazel," Nico began, but Scorpio waved a hand at him, obviously wishing him to be silent. He regarded Hazel, who was trying to keep standing, head spinning from standing up so fast.

"My apologies, daughter of Pluto. I often forget how easy it is for your mortal bodies to fall unconscious when sufficient power and force is applied, but none of your friends will have any lasting ill effects, and they shall all awaken soon. It is merely a result of your heritage that you and your brother have awakened first."

Hazel looked caught off guard by his respectful speech. "Wait, so you're a child of the underworld too?"

Scorpio tilted his head, considering her for a moment. "Not precisely. As I was created from the immortal power of Hades, my power is essentially the same as it would be as if I were a demigod child of his, yet magnified largely because when his power manifested with the goddess Serquet's, I came into being. So I am created from his power, yes, yet I am not his child. Although, I believe Lilac already explained the theory of us RuleBreakers."

"How do you know what she told us?" Hazel demanded.

"It seems like her. She likes to boast and lives for people to look at her with respect and love, from her people, and hate and fear, from her enemies. She thinks she has no peers." Scorpio said, shrugging.

The other demigods began to show signs of waking up, so Scorpio dipped his head to Hazel and Nico. "It would be best to take my leave of this situation, as I am unable to converse sanely with many due to clashing temperaments. The sole constant exception tends to be children of the underworld. I shall see you again in the council."

He turned, the long black cloak he wore swishing across the forest floor. He walked forward dissolving into the shadows.

A noise alerted the siblings to Reyna, who sat up. "Who was that?"

"Someone you should never tick off, unless you have a death wish."

They turned to see a blue cat sitting on the ground looking interestedly at them. The cat wasn't blue, exactly, but it was close enough of a gray with a shimmery silver sheen across its fur and blue eyes that seemed to see everything.

"Who-," Reyna stammered.

The cat gave what seemed like the equivalent of a bow, paws stretched out in front of it, lowered front half to the ground. Or it could've been just stretching, it looked remarkably like a cat just after waking up. "I am Lukas Libertov Koshkovich, of Russia." The voice was male, and had a slight accent. "Son of Libertas."

"Why are you a cat?" Reyna asked.

"All children of the great goddess Libertas can take on the form of a cat, the breed being relevant to their homeland or other aspect of them. The cat is the sacred animal of Libertas, as it represents liberty, freedom, and independence." It was really weird to hear such a rational tone coming from a cat. "I, as any cat enthusiast could see, am a pedigreed Russian Blue. Divine silvery-tipped blue-grey fur, foreign body type, blue eyes-an oddity, as most have green eyes-and a gentle, antisocial personality, a cat who bonds only to one."

"Well, none of us are cat enthusiasts, so none of us would know that." Hazel reasoned.

The cat nodded, the human gesture looking odd on a housecat. "My sister and I are meant to escort you to the council, where they will decide whether or not to provide assistance or kill you, and if they do help, how much so. Our order has been threatened before for meddling too much in demigod affairs, but the gods don't really dare to do too much, as, according to them, anything could prompt us to attempt to take over the world." The cat rolled its eyes.

"And the killing us?" asked Jason who had stood up behind the demigods, having just woken up. "Is that likely?"

Lukas tilted his head, ears twitching. "Not very. Scorpio is usually the advocate for eliminating possible threats, but he showed no hostile intentions when he conversed with you earlier," at that his blue gaze jumped to Nico and Hazel, "so you're probably fine. Just don't make them mad. Actually, you might not want to talk at all, unless you have a death wish."

By this time, all the other demigods had regained consciousness, so Lukas requested they follow him and began to dart through the forest.

**This story will focus mostly on Nico, for reasons that may be explained in the chapter after that. Disclaimer: I only own my oc's of which they are numerous.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Since I have been writing so much lately, I'm going to try to post updates every morning for the next few days, but it may be more like afternoon if I don't get reviews. And if that hint was far too subtle, I NEED REVIEWS TO MOTIVATE ME TO UPLOAD CHAPTERS! PLEASE!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my ocs.**

Nico's POV

After about ten minutes of trying to follow Lukas, they arrived at a gate.

There was fog shrouding whatever lay beyond the gate, which spanned between two cliffs.

There were two people standing at the gates. One was in red armor, which almost caused Nico to believe that this was another child of Nemesis, were it not for the sense of calm that radiated off the guard. The armor was obscuring his features, but burned into the chest plate was a seven petaled flower, or a seven pointed star, Nico wasn't sure which.

The other guard was even stranger. She had long light brown hair which seemed to be braided back in an intricate pattern, woven among small metal objects which Nico thought looked to be keys. Silver, gold, and iron, modern house keys and large old-fashioned ones. She was wearing a light purple blouse with a pin shaped like a bee on it, and a brown leather skirt with the hem having lavender embroidered keys on it. She wore leather sandals and had brown eyes which sparkled gold at the edges and were lined in kohl. Transparent wings extended down her back, with a quiver straight up and down between her shoulder blades and a polished bow slung slanting over her shoulders. She also had earrings with small golden keys hanging down from her earlobes.

"Hello I am Jessie RuleBreaker of Janus and Neith how is your day going I cannot let you pass thank you and have a nice day," she said, all in one breath, very quickly.

Lukas closed his eyes. There was a flash of light, and suddenly, in the place that the cat was standing, there was a boy with shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes.

"Knock it off, Jessica," He spoke tiredly. "I don't have the energy to argue with you.

"Good," she said, tossing her braid over her shoulder, sounding like a wind chime. "Go away."

"Jessie," the other guard extended hand towards her. She slapped it away.

"I am the gatekeeper, and I say-."

"I have an order from Anacaona to let them pass."

Both RuleBreakers turned around them. Libby was there, in an off-white linen dress, barefoot, with a golden tiara in her loose red hair. She held what appeared to be a small sphere of glowing blue green energy, laced with golden threads.

"And why did she send you to deliver this?" Jessie said waspishly. "I believe Messenger Nymphs are quite capable of delivering their messages themselves?"

Libby shrugged. "I'm more an enforcer, if you know what I mean."

"Anacaona's pet!" She spat.

Libby flicked a finger at it, and the gate swung open. She gestured for the demigods to come in, which they quickly did, not wanting to spend more time than necessary with the self-proclaimed gatekeeper, who was currently sputtering insults at her.

Libby closed the gate and spun on her heel, continuing into the space between the cliffs.

"Thanks," Percy spoke, breaking the silence.

"De nada, Señor," she said. "Jessie can be a little crazy."

Suddenly, the steep canyon walls fell away into nothingness, revealing a barren desert wasteland. No movement. No life.

And it didn't feel genuine.

"You've got to be kidding me." Leo said. "Your super secret home base is a desert?!"

"No," Nico said, causing all of the other demigods to stare at him. Conscious of their gazes on him, he turned away, scanning the desolate landscape.

"Do you see something that we don't? 'Cause that's pretty much all there is," Percy added.

"It doesn't make sense," Nico muttered. "Look, I can't sense any life force."

They stared at him more. Finally, Piper said, "Well, that's probably because it's a _desert."_

"No. Just because it's a desert doesn't mean it's completely void of life," Nico argued.

"Yep," Libertita agreed. "You'd be surprised by how much life is in a desert. This landscape _should_ have scorpions, snakes, cougars, frogs/toads, rabbits, insects, tarantulas-,"

"Spiders?" Annabeth inhaled sharply.

"Actually, I was going to say Tarantula hawks, followed by tarantulas, but yeah, there should be all those," Libertita said. "All those creatures emit energy signatures, which some," she inclined her head towards Nico, "Are able to sense as a life force."

She raised her hands in front of her. Golden swirls of light extended from her hands, heading towards the landscape. They condensed before reaching the subtle change in the sand that signified the start of the desert, and built as if they had reached an invisible wall, spreading in either direction in a perfect line. Libby thrust her hands forward and the 'invisible wall' broke, revealing the front of a temple built of white stone and carved with images, some that Nico recognized, some he didn't, but all radiated power.

There was a door to the temple. It looked to be nothing more than a white slab, but written on it clearly in Latin, Greek, English, Italian, and numerous other languages he didn't recognize was the word RuleBreaker.

Standing on the west side of the door (the left, really, but the compass burned into the granite walkway leading up to the temple made it clear that it was also the west) stood a hooded figure. Their features were cloaked in the long black robe they wore, which had swirling streams of purple weaving across it.

Strangest of all, they radiated a dark energy not unlike his own aura, but different, as if it was a different dialect of a language he knew well, which wasn't entirely inaccurate.

"What is-," Percy began.

"She is Kayletei, RuleBreaker of Hecate and Anubis." Libby growled. "She does not appreciate being referred to as a what."

"Well, she can't hear us from over here," Percy responded reasonably.

Libby turned her lamp like gaze upon him. "It would be wise for you to assume nothing here, with anyone. Do not tell Zariah that she looks like Persephone, you will be impaled with her spear. Do not ask Yggdrasil why she fights if she is a daughter of Demeter, she'll flay you alive. We are a special people, what may seem to be merely the castoffs of society have formed this order. We will assist those in need, yet many of us remain touchy enough to resort to our darker instincts at the slightest insult."

Percy shifted his weight. "Wait, so Hecate is goddess of magic. Who's Anubis?"

"God of mummification," Libby said offhandedly. She didn't seem to notice their sudden stares as they looked at her incredulously. "Yeah, this would be one of the worse people to anger. She's been known to mummify people alive. Egyptian mummification, by the way, involves the deceased's liver, lungs, intestines, and stomach being removed and placed in separate canopic jars. The brain was liquefied with a hook and poured out through the nose, while the heart was left in the body because it was considered to be part of the soul. Scared of her yet?"

She looked at their faces, all of which displayed some degree of disgust, nausea, or fear. "Ready to meet her? She's our last line of defense. By the way, who among you is the most honest person?"

They stared at her again. "Sorry, but why?" Piper asked.

"Just think on it." Libby started walking towards Kayletei, and the demigods really had no choice but to follow.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you, reviewer. Here is the next longer chapter. The next chapter will be four thousand words, I'm afraid. I already have it written.** **Disclaimer: I only own my OCs**

Annabeth's POV

When they arrived at where she had stood, she wasn't there. Instead, there was a simple black circle on the ground.

Libertita turned to face them. "Kay, so this is why I asked the honesty question. The person who steps onto that circle will be transported to Kayletei's replica Hall of Judgment, which is basically the Egyptian version of your underworld judges. In a real judgment, Anubis would weigh your heart against a feather of truth. Kayletei's version, in which she uses to give entrance not to the Afterlife but to our temple, one of your group has to answer five questions while holding the feather of truth, which, by the way, will make you spontaneously combust if you answer untruthfully. Any questions?"

"I'll do it," Piper said immediately.

"I advise against that." Libby stared at her.

"Why?" Piper shot back.

"Your voice can coerce, talk people out of things, but something you should know is that none of the particular talents you inherited from your parents are in effect here." They stared at her.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Annabeth demanded.

"Your powers are void." Libby smiled thinly. "It's not like we can take away your intelligence, or the way any of you can see or sense things. But only demigods who are part of this order can use their innate magic. It's a safety precaution, nothing personal."

"I will," Annabeth said.

"No!" Percy grabbed her arm. "This sounds dangerous!"

"Everything we do is dangerous," Annabeth pointed out. "I'll be fine."

Libertita nodded. "Makes sense. Oh, this is technically cheating, but do you know the capital of Syria?"

Annabeth frowned. "No. Why?"

"Kayletei has watched _Monty Python and the Holy Grail._ Unfortunately, she became obsessed. Fortunately, that made some of her questions rather predictable. Unfortunately, she now tries to scare people with her 'Holy hand grenade'. Either way, the capital of Syria is Damascus."

"Um, Ok." Annabeth stared at the black circle.

"It's quite simple," Libby assured. "It's just a portal. Step into the circle."

Hesitantly, Annabeth stepped forward, onto the circle, and purple flames erupted into being around her. When they faded, she was gone.

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Percy's POV

Percy was getting worried about Annabeth. Ten minutes had passed and nothing had happened. Libby was leaning on a wall, and the rest of the demigods were unsure what to do.

"It's been nearly ten minutes." Percy tried to keep his tone civil. "Where is she?"

Libby frowned. "It hasn't been ten minutes."

"Yes, it has."

"Chronokinesis."

Percy stared at her. "What?"

Libby sighed. "Chronokinesis is one of my better abilities. It is defined as the manipulation of time. To lead the Liberites, one must learn all forms of kinesis at least basically."

"Forms of kinesis?" Percy was getting even more confused.

"Liberites aren't born with any special powers aside from our physical and mental prowess," Libby said. "but every child of Libertas and also many demigods have the capacity to learn forms of telekinesis that they aren't born with, or that complement their natural abilities."

"Like what?" Piper asked, intrigued by the concept.

"Aerokinesis, hydrokinesis, pyrokinesis, geokinesis, and telekinesis are the basic ones beginners learn. From there, you can branch out into thermokinesis, cryokinesis, ubrakinesis, and lumeokinesis. Dangerous ones are Chronokinesis, biokinesis, cariekinesis, and necromancy, and the only forbidden practice is necrokinesis, which is basically making things die with your mind." They all stared at her.

"OK, now what do those mean?" Percy asked.

Libby sighed. "It's a long explanation, and there isn't that much time."

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Annabeth's POV

The flames died down seconds after they started, but Annabeth was no longer in front of the temple. Once she had blinked the afterimages of the blazing flames from her eyelids, she was able to take in her surroundings. There was a throne on one end of the hall. It was ornate, gold with emerald inlay, depicting field of wheat and green leaves. In the center of the hall was a set of immense scales, an iron T with silver chains and golden pans emblazoned with magic writing. The walls were gold inlaid with silver words, in Greek, Latin, and picture hieroglyphs that she though must be the ancient Egyptian language. There were ornate pillars with symbols which looked like emerald towers, and black dogs.

Two small birds, who were a pale tan with pink on their cheeks, fluttered in from somewhere, flying to the throne and perching on either armrest. From the same entrance opposite the throne strode in a young girl. She looked about seventeen, Annabeth's age, and was dressed in a similar fashion to the throne; green intermingled with gold on her dress. She had long, light brown hair that was dyed with green highlights. She wore a golden crown of wheat on her head, and she wore leather sandals studded with emeralds. The most surprising thing about her, though, was her skin tone. Her skin was a light green. Her eyes were lined in golden kohl, and her eyes were green, although the pupils were gold instead of black. She made her way to the throne and sat down, stroking the heads of the little birds.

Annabeth stared at her, finally speaking. "Are you Kayletei?"

The girl laughed, her voice like a wind chime. "Of course not! I'm Kiriana, RuleBreaker of Osiris, lord of the Afterlife, and Demeter, goddess of farming."

Annabeth stared. "Wait, Osiris is-,"

"Osiris is the Egyptian equivalent of Hades," Kiriana said exasperatedly, waving a hand. "I've heard it a thousand times. But equivalent, in this case, is a very loose word. Egyptians revered Osiris. He was actually king of the gods and god of nature before his evil brother Set killed him, but his wife and sister, Isis, resurrected him into the afterlife as king. So Osiris isn't feared as Hades is, either way. Kayletei's much darker, but that's mostly because she hates people in general. I'm here mostly for ceremony, and also to keep Kayletei from killing you unnecessarily."

As soon as Annabeth had taken that all in, there was another blaze of purple fire on the other side of the hall. Stepping out of the violet inferno was Kayletei, dressed in a purple velvet dress with decorative black embroidery along the sleeves, neckline, and hem. She had long, wavy black hair and dark brown eyes, and her skin was so white, it didn't seem to have any color in it at all. Two large black dogs walked beside her. In one hand, she held a long white feather.

She spoke in whispering, hissed tones. "If you tell a single lie while holding the feather of truth, you will spontaneously combust."

"Friendly conversation starter," Annabeth said. "Who are your dogs?"

Kayletei hissed. "They are jackals, insolent mortal!"

"I thought jackals weren't black," Annabeth tossed back.

"These are the symbol of the great god Anubis, foolish child!" Kayletei spat. "Well known for digging up graves in early Egypt, they were the symbol of the god of funerals!"

"Um, Kayla?" Kiriana interjected. "Watch your blood pressure. It was a perfectly reasonable question." Her dogs-wait, no her _jackals-_bared their teeth at Kiriana, whose little birds puffed up their plumage and spread their wings in a threatening manner. She stroked their heads, calming them down. She fixed her green gaze upon Kayletei. "Get your ceremony over with."

Kayletei strode over to Annabeth, eyes narrowed, hand held out to her. "Hold the feather."

Annabeth took the white plume, surprised at its weight. "Okay, so now what."

Kayletei tilted her head. "Would you die for any of your companions?"

"Yes," Annabeth responded immediately. The feather did nothing.

"If offered a choice between saving an innocent child and stopping your worst enemy from their goal, what would you choose?"

Annabeth stared at her, an angry flush rising to her face. "What importance does that have?"

Kayletei laughed. It was lusterless and harsh, like her throat was made of sandpaper. "If you have this much trouble with a simple moral question, you would never make it to the Afterlife. Your soul would dip into the reach of Ammut the Devourer, and you would cease to exist, for guilt makes the heart heavy. Answer only the truth in this chamber."

"Fine." Annabeth swallowed, her thoughts in turmoil. "I-I would stop my enemy." The feather of truth didn't respond, which she thought was better than incinerating, but still she felt horrible about her response.

Kayletei slumped against a column, all pride and arrogance gone. "None would save that child. None but our order."

Annabeth's anger rose. "Well, my worst enemy is trying to tear the fabric of reality as we know it apart, so I think I have a right to say that!"

Kiriana stared at her. "You sound a lot like your RuleBreaker partial sister when you say that."

"Why-," Annabeth began.

"And calm down, Kayletei." Kiriana ordered. "Those who aren't locked in an immortal battle against their opponent do not have the same way of looking at things."

"How dare you!" Kayletei lashed out at her. "How dare you say- Do you not remember-,"

"I do, of course I do, Kayla." She spoke in soothing tones. "But we must let her go. Even RuleBreakers are not entirely immortal."

Kayletei stood, obviously burying her explosive emotions deep. "Next question: If you could rewrite your entire life so that you and your friend, Perseus Jackson, had a simple mortal life together, would you?"

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Percy's POV

He remained pacing. Libby was still explaining the forms of kinesis that were possible to Piper, who seemed very interested in the subject. Annabeth still wasn't back yet, and no matter what Libby said about time being a bit off here, he was still worried. Those worries were assuaged the moment the purple flames began again, moments later revealing Annabeth, looking fine save for the slightly disturbed look in her eyes. She stumbled into his arms.

"Well," Libby said cheerfully. "Now you have full right to be in our base! Congratulations!"

The slab swung inward without a sound. Led by Libby, they ventured into the fortress/temple that was the home of the people that were their only hope. It was basically a long white marble hallway, with doors along it every so often. "This hallway eventually leads to the Council chamber." Libby spoke in a low tone. "It's pretty hard to-,"

She was cut off by a loud shriek. "CARTER KANE AND ZIA RASHID! YOU TWO ARE THE MOST INFERNAL PARAKEETS THAT I HAVE EVER HAD! WHEN YOU'RE NOT FINDING SOME WAY TO ESCAPE, YOU'RE MAKING…BABY PARAKEETS! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?" Aristotle burst from one of the doors into the hallway tailed by a blue parakeet, who flapped at him and basically attacked him. He was holding a smaller white parakeet in his hands.

"Get past them, quick," Libby said, rushing ahead, followed by the demigods, who did not want to be attacked by bloodthirsty parakeets. When they were a safe distance away, Libby sighed and slowed down.

"What was that all about?" Percy asked. Libby stalked forward without answering.


	10. Chapter 10

Nico's POV

At last they came to a door at the end of the hallway, fortunately without any other crazy happenings. Libby pushed open the door into a courtyard. There was something slightly off about it, although he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

There was a stone walkway leading to a circular stone platform, ringed by odd statues. The white sparkling stone that made up the platform was sliced by an obsidian spiral, creating an odd vortex look. It felt familiar to Nico, how, he didn't know.

They followed Libby along the stone path, all puzzled as to where they were actually going. As she walked past the statues, she flicked a glance towards one statue, which caught his eye, and he stopped to see it closer.

It was a girl, immortalized in stone, looking no more than his own age, fourteen. The sculptor had evidently been extremely skilled, as they had managed to portray her long black dress as a particular fabric: linen. Her dress was almost exactly like Libby's in style, and her hair was black, flowing loosely across her shoulders. The statue was so perfect, it seemed as if it must have been an actual girl, just hit by Medusa's glare.

The strangest thing was, though, that Nico knew her. In some deep, instinctive way he felt connected to her, like he'd known her his entire life.

"Who is she?" He asked Libby.

Libby stiffened. "Who?" she asked, not disguising her emotions very well. He would have thought she was afraid, but her expression had a good deal of an emotion that seemed a lot like mourning to him.

"Her," Nico pointed to the incredibly lifelike statue.

Libby hesitated. "That's Mryori. She was the first Liberite, the Savior of Gizah. She mentored me in the ways of our order. She led the Liberites. We have long missed her, although she departed our world in body merely seventy-four years ago."

"How do I know her?" Nico asked, absently.

"Well, if she died that long ago, you might've seen her in the Underworld," Leo said reasonably.

Libby hissed, outraged. "Never! Not Mryori!"

"Well why not?" Leo challenged.

Nico glanced at Libby. "Who is she? I would know if I'd seen her in the underworld."

Libby flicked her hand, and the demigods all froze. All save for Nico.

Libby never took her eyes from his, and he started to feel like he was being assessed. Finally, she spoke. "What's your parentage?"

"I'm a son of Hades, if that's what you're asking," he stated defensively.

"It's not." She shifted her weight. "Parentage implies both mother and father."

"My mother's name was Maria di Angelo." He shrugged.

"I can show you her story," she said, gesturing towards the statue.

Nico looked around, and for the first time seemed to notice that the others were frozen. "What did you-,"

"Chronokinesis," she spread her arms. "We can see her story, and your friends will think not a moment will have passed."

Curiosity was tugging him to say yes, so when she offered her hand, he took it, and let her lead him into an illusionary world.

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It started with the girl, although a lot younger.

She looked about six, perhaps, with messy, long black hair braided back, and a simple chiton. She was dancing through what appeared to be a desert, laughing and playing. As he watched, Libby at his side, a huge male lion crept up behind the child. He drew in breath, ready to cry out a warning, but the breath never left his lungs. He was unable to speak.

The girl spun, seeing the lion. Instead of running in fear, she gasped, and extended a hand, speaking in a language that somehow, Nico recognized and comprehended as the Egyptian language.

"Don't fear, mighty lion. I am no hunter, just a child," She called in a low voice. "Who are you?"

The lion looked taken aback, not used to being addressed by its prey. The girl kept her gentle tone.

"I am no hunter, no warrior, mighty lion. I am at your mercy, great Cat of Sekhmet. You are mighty, I am weak. You are the hunter now. Will you take my life for those taken from your pride?"

The lion seemed to understand her, and he dropped his head wearily to the desert, lying on his side. She crossed over to him, seeming not to fear him at all. She gasped as she saw the large bloody wound in his side.

"Oh, have the hunters done this to you," she choked out tears filling her eyes. She ran, but not in fear.

They followed her, as she ran through the desert to what must have been her home, on the outskirts of a small village. She dashed into the house, larger than the others in the village. They watched as she grabbed a package from a shelf, and a bucket from by the door, as well as a sealed jar. She made her way to the well and filled the bucket.

Immediately she sped back to the place where the lion lay in the sand. She quickly dropped to her knees beside the mighty animal. She tore strips from her skirt and dipped them in the water, using them to clean the blood from the wound, soaking the russet sand in the red of blood. Finding the spearhead within the deep, vicious cut, she tugged it out. The beast didn't even flinch, nearly dead as it was.

Once his side was cleaner, the cut bared of most blood, she broke the seal on the jar and lathered the green paste within along the wound, covering it with more strips of the wool of her dress for a bandage. She then crept to his head and stroked his mane.

"Mighty lion? It is I," she cooed. She brought the bucket up to his head. "Water? You must be thirsty."

He opened his large, intelligent brown eyes. She trickled water into his huge jaws, and he rose his great head to drink from the bucket.

"I cannot see, if the lion is the animal of a sacred goddess to them, why they hunt you so," she continued, unwrapping the package, which contained fish that she offered to the lion. "It seems so many that have forgotten the old ways. Although, as Father is a Greek merchant, I am not one of their people, either. But I like the old ways. In fact, I think that I'll call you Ramses." She brushed her hands off, wiping the remains of the fish absently onto her dress. "Mind if I stay? Mother's dead, and Father's gone, so I am basically raising myself."

The lion seemed to have no objection, so she curled up at his side and slept. If the big cat could smile, Nico thought, the lion would've, as the great cat curled up around the little girl that had helped it.

The peaceful scene faded away into a darkness, which faded back into light moments later. This time, the girl looked about ten, standing beside the lion on a sandy cliff looking into the city, which appeared to be on fire. She held a spear upright beside her.

"Oh, Ramses," the girl moaned, "The city has been taken by the Romans. Cleopatra is dead. And Father, he is dead too.

As if hearing something behind them, both turned to face the rustling bushes. Two Roman soldiers climbed the slopes, armored and bristling with weapons.

Neither girl nor lion stood any chance.

This scene too faded and swirled, darkness coming briefly to be replaced by another image. This time, the girl was shackled to a wall.

"You can kill who I love, but you do not own me." She said through gritted teeth.

"No," said a person standing in the shadow. "You have nothing. You are nothing but a slave of the legion. You will serve us."

"No!" She shrieked, and the chains burst.

This time, only light reigned before fading. Now, glowing leather armor had materialized on her. She had evidently summoned the spear to her hand, only now it was gilded. A helmet with cat's ears had appeared on her head, and she stalked out of the remains of the shack. Her voice was magnified, and the spirit of a lion stalked beside her, seeming to take on a material form. Her voice seemed thrice as loud as the legion fell silent before her.

"I am Mryori! Your great goddess Libertas is my mother! Thus, I am liberated! You will never hold me captive!"

Again, the scene faded, and again, it came back into focus. Mryori was standing before Anacaona.

"Lady Anacaona, I seek to join your RuleBreakers and fight Lilac," She spoke in low tones.

"Young Mryori, it is dangerous fighting such an enemy," Anacaona said sadly.

"So many of my siblings, children of Libertas, die each year," she retorted. "Those of us who survive would be fully willing to fight with you if it would mean fighting for a purpose, a reason to live. What other purpose is there? We wish for safety, a home, a place to belong,"

Anacaona sighed. "If you wish to join, I will, of course, allow it. I can also grant you an all others like you a gift: to choose how you age. Like us. Here, you can learn magic and reach your full potential."

A new scene swirled into being. This time, Nico saw Scorpio with a spear tipped in Stygian Iron, holding it to the throat of a girl he somehow recognized as Gizah, a child of Nemesis who had joined their order, although there was no way he could possibly have known that. She was dressed in her blood red armor that marked her as a warrior of Lilac. She wore no helmet and was pleading and crying.

"Please! I left Lilac! She has coerced my siblings into such evil! Please!"

"As enemy to this order, she must die for trespassing on our sacred land," Scorpio said, his voice low, his eyes wild. He was surrounded by a few RuleBreakers: Kayletei, Alida, and Jessie. Not one of them was moving to stop him.

Suddenly there was a flash of white light. Mryori darted between Scorpio and Gizah, knocking the spear away.

"Scorpio, listen!" she pleaded.

"Anacaona's favorite pet will not stop my duty," Scorpio responded brusquely.

"Practice the mercy you preach, for once!" she cried. "The quality of mercy is not strained, it droppeth like the gentle rain from heaven, upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed, it blesseth him that gives, and him that takes. Scorpio, of all who wish a new start, who are we to judge that? You are not the fates, you do not get to decide when to end a life for your own purposes! Simply because half your power stems from such magic does not make it your choice, Scorpio! Choose your path!"

She advanced upon the dark warrior, manipulating the shadows that encircled Scorpio aside. He laughed, no humor in his voice.

"You think you can stop me?" He raised his hand, gathering dark energy to it, ready to blast Gizah.

A black sphere of energy formed around Gizah, still lying on the ground, making no move to attack. A girl stepped out, one of the Council who had stormed Lilac's castle, but he now knew her name: _Cassiopia, _and perceived that she was a RuleBreaker of Pluto and Nut_._

"Scorpio, you are not the brother I once knew!" She pleaded.

"No, he was viciously murdered by Lilac! Her mistress!" he spat.

Mryori knelt by Gizah's side, dispelling the barrier. Before fading into blackness, Nico saw her stroking the hair of the warrior who was really no older than a child.

Now came a series of images, not truly entire scenes; images of victory against their enemy, of Mryori leading charges of her siblings against Lilac's soldiers, of her bravery in facing Lilac again, of circling her in an ornate chariot drawn by two black cats, with a large black shorthair-a Bombay, he sensed, although he knew nothing about cat breeds-on one shoulder, and a small black kitten on her other. He saw her saving cats, creeping under thorny bushes to save orphaned kittens and rearing them herself and watching as they grew into strong adults who benefitted from the copious amounts of magic, making them immortal. He saw a young Libertita, coming to the order with her brother, being taken on by Mryori like any of the many kittens that had come into her care. He saw the mother-daughter and sister-sister relationship that they developed with alacrity, and how powerful and caring she could be simultaneously.

And then, another scene came into being, the chariot of Mryori and one drawn by tabbies with Libby in it, charging into battle against an entire legion of red-armored warriors, and he saw a sudden burst of red light from behind her, and he saw Mryori fall, red energy pouring through her veins, and he watched as Libby saw her companion _(friend, mentor, mother, sister) _fall, and he felt the anger and grief and despair flowing from her, and he watched as she channeled them into the easiest kinesis for the strongest emotions, and he watched as, barely controlled, the shadows burst into her bidding alongside the light, staining her white armor with streaks of black, assisted by the small kitten that stood by Mryori who he now understood was Umbrea, and controlled the shadows that burst forth, uncontrolled, from Libby.

And the shadows overcame it, the light that she had summoned being blotted out and there was just

Blackness

Death

Grief

Love

Maternal love

Sisterly love

Memories

And suddenly, the light burst forth again, immediately forming into a scene: a light-filled chamber, a bedroom, with Anacaona standing in a corner, and at first, he felt a sense of relief, because there was Mryori, standing, pacing across the room, and she wasn't dead, and Libby need not grieve so deeply.

But then he saw the _wrongness,_ the red that seemed to pulse through her veins, across her skin, the pain that filled every movement, the way she looked like she hadn't slept in ages. Dark circles surrounded her eyes, and the formerly healthy, lively girl looked gaunt and tired.

"You have options," Anacaona spoke gently, yet the grief and the pain to see her old friend like this was apparent in her eyes.

"I know, I know," Mryori said, trying to control her breathing. "I always thought it would be easy to face death, you know." Anacaona watched, anxious, as Mryori began to speak in a hasty, mumbled way. "I thought, after so many years, so many lifetimes, I would be able to accept it. To be at peace with it. But I can't, I don't care if I go to the Egyptian afterlife or the Underworld, I just don't want to give up. I have lived millennia, Anacaona, and yet there is so much I haven't done. I have yet to be a mother, to watch my children grow up strong and moral. I have yet to love someone in that any way, even though that is what I preach. I will never know the love that would come to me from the father of my children, that I would return without hesitation in a heartbeat. I have yet to raise children that are born from myself, to feel that unconditional love that comes from having created them, to have brought life into this world. The only choice I have is to choose my death and Afterlife, and what choice is that, really?"

"Oh, Mryah," Anacaona embraced her as sobs wracked her formerly strong body, made frail by this curse. "Those weren't the options I meant,"

"Then what do you mean," she spoke bitterly.

Anacaona sighed. "I can give you a chance." Mryori stared at her, hope warring with disbelief across her face. "Just listen, Mryah. You were destined to be a mother and a lover, for more than Libby and your other siblings. Your children were destined to have terrible, important fates. Ones which could shape the very world."

"Impossible," Mryori scoffed. "What can simple Legacies of Libertas do? We have potential, not power."

Anacaona gazed sternly at her. "If a very great child of Libertas can stand against Lilac, stand up for Scorpio, stand for freedom, siblinghood, and love, what can the children of that great one do?"

"I'm not great, Anacaona," she spoke sadly.

"You're wrong, but that's not the point. Either way, I wonder what power that child would have when coupled with the power of a different god.

She choked out a laugh. "You're expecting me to fall for some god. I'm dying, Anacaona. In but a few days, I'll be unable to move wracked with pain, in another few, the poison will claim me. What hope is there?"

"I can offer you a chance," Anacaona said. "I can give you a normal life, a mortal life. I can suppress the parts of you that make you a child of Libertas, make them dormant, and with them, the poison will go dormant too. You can be normal, fall in love. The monsters won't find you, they sense demigods. You would retain your memories. Lilac might be able to track you down eventually, but the trace of her magic will be buried so deep within you that she won't for many years. You will mother children. I will protect you and visit. Penumbra will protect you and your children, a housecat, and Umbrea can act as a messenger."

She lifted her head. "Then I say yes."

A simple swirl of shadow later, he saw her and Anacaona, in a house.

"I am ready." A note of sadness was in her eyes. She was giving up everything and everyone she had ever loved to be a mother.

Anacaona touched her forehead, altering her form, aging it. She retained her dark hair, eyes, face, just aged. She looked about a decade older, twenty-four rather than fourteen.

And Nico recognized her. He knew her not from memories, but from a simple scene he had seen in his stepmother's garden. The shock and anger, in a swift crushing blow to his lungs, drove the breath out of his body as he struggled for air. He felt the weight of the lies his father had fed him, and he had been so anxious for any truth about his past that he had believed him.

"You will need a new name, Mryah," Anacaona stroked her hair. "You are an angel, you know that? Libby will continue as my lieutenant, you trained her well."

They embraced one last time, before Anacaona knelt to one knee and dipped her head-the highest form of respect in their order. "Farewell, Maria di Angelo."

Darkness overtook the scene like the curtain of a stage after a play. Nico could barely control his breathing as he struggled to process this information. Hearing her name had made this all horribly, incredibly, real. He couldn't believe that this was all some fabrication by Libby, nor could he believe that she was truly evil or misleading him.

Light began to filter in along with the shadow. He watched, as if detached from his soul.

The scene was the same room. Mryori-Maria-sat in a chair, having aged a few years. The large black cat-Penumbra-sat on her lap, and the kitten paced across the floor.

"Umbrea, if you could fetch Anacaona?" Maria spoke in Italian.

The small cat shadow travelled away, to return moments later with her.

"Mryori," Anacaona greeted, unwilling to call her by her mortal name. "You called?"

"Yes." Maria shifted. "I want you to see the future."

Anacaona's eyes dropped to her midsection. "Sometimes it is better for the mother not to know the fate of her child."

"I need to know!" Maria was agitated. "He says the fates of his children never end well!"

"And he is quite correct." Anacaona began to pace. "Did you not see Scorpio, for all the years you lived in our order? Did you recognize the pain in Miriam's heart, and how Zariah grieved for the sister she was thought to have killed? Did you not see her pain as she eventually rejected all that made her a daughter of Hades and all that made her suffer?"

"But they have found peace in your order!" Maria fell against the back of the chair. "Please."

A sigh filtered through Anacaona's lungs. "I have never been good at denying any of my order." She leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes.

Minutes later, she jerked away from the wall.

"What? Tell me!" Maria urged.

"Pain. Sacrifice," she muttered, evidently distraught.

"Sacrifice?" Maria exclaimed. "And there is nothing you can do?"

"Nothing which will not interfere," Anacaona bowed her head, then stiffened. "He returns. I must leave. Be strong, Mryori."

It faded into a similar scene, nearly identical save for the small child on the floor.

Anacaona was against the wall again, seeing, eyes closed. She leaned away, opening her eyes, not as agitated.

"And his fate?" Maria demanded anxiously.

Anacaona tilted her head. "Pain. Fear. Rejection. Shadowed. Outcast."

"Hope?" Maria demanded. "You didn't say he'll die!"

"Is to live an outcast better than to die accepted?" Anacaona demanded acidly.

Maria was resolute. "He is my son. In your order, he could find acceptance."

"Outcasts are outcasts. Loners think like loners. None break from that without wishing to."

"But, you will offer? At least? Please!" Maria pleaded.

Anacaona regarded her softly. "I would never turn anyone away from our order. Particularly not a child of the greatest among us. No RuleBreaker, no demigod, could ever compare."

Another scene. Maria was in a park, Anacaona standing before her.

"Maternal love awakens your past, Mryori," she was saying. "It is in the nature of Liberites to care for their children. That is why the poison is spreading."

"How long do I have?" Mryori demanded.

Anacaona sighed. "The question is, how much pain do you want to go through until you explain things to your lover and have him release your soul."

Maria gasped. "Never! I couldn't do that to him! Isn't there any other way?"

"Mryori." She spoke quickly, urgently. "Your children are endangered. Lilac absorbs death magic easiest. Your children must be protected from her."

"He will, when I'm gone." Mryori waved a hand. "But children need their mother.

"Children do not need to see their mother die writhing in the grips of horrible poison!" Anacaona flashed back.

"Then what do I do?" Maria was losing it.

"Tell him. Make a plan from there. Ensure that he will protect his children when the time comes," Anacaona said. "Also, take this." She produced a bottle with a dropper. "Five drops twice daily. For the pain. Scorpio's excellent at brewing tinctures."

Maria took it and smiled sadly. "I guess this is goodbye."

She tilted her head. "I try not to be too liberal with my farewells. Things tend to happen when you're on good terms with Scorpio."

Maria laughed shakily. "If I die, I want my peace wherever I rest."

"Oh, you're a hero." She smiled. "Besides, you're on very good terms with the ruler of the Underworld." Her smile turned a bit mysterious. "Although, if you really want your rest, you should probably make arrangements with your lover. I have a plan."

"I seem to recall your plans usually involve abolishing slavery, or apartheid, or some similar form of repression."

Now it swished to a scene he recognized. Hades knelt over her crumpled body, but he now saw the red spread throughout her veins.

But the scene was not what he'd seen before. There was no oracle, no furies, no exploded hotel. The shadows rippled behind Hades and Scorpio materialized.

"Lord Hades," he said diplomatically.

"Scorpio," Hades spat. "What do you want? Have you come to take away what I have left?"

"Anacaona wishes to immortalize Mryori in the ways of the RuleBreakers," Scorpio stated flatly. "She says that Mryori deserves a hero's funeral and has a theory for allowing her to walk among us in spirit. She says that you must protect the children, for Lilac is out seeking their power already,"

"They have no future," Hades spoke bitterly. "They have no mother."

"Prove that they have a father, at least." Scorpio's tone was pure acid.

"Excuse me!" Hades roared.

"Anacaona decrees that if the boy has the potential to find the order and the ability to accept the order, he shall, of course be accepted."

"How is Anacaona any different from the first girl you loved!" Hades challenged.

Wrong thing to say.

"How was Maria any different from Persephone?" Scorpio retorted.

Nico couldn't see how both Hades and Scorpio were still alive if this was how they talked to each other. He knew his father, and if Scorpio was anything like him, he was surprised that they hadn't killed each other.

"You're no son of mine," Hades hissed.

"As a RuleBreaker, I have no father," Scorpio returned smoothly.

The scene faded, blurring into blackness. The textured darkness swirled, an undulating current, until there was nothing but light.

Blue light.

The sky

The statue

He blinked, stunned by the sunlight assaulting his eyes, as if he had spent far too long with them closed. Although, he supposed he had, metaphorically.

How could his father have lied to him? He didn't doubt that her mental illusion was the truth, it seemed so real, so right. It seemed to fit so well, although when he mentally stepped back to take a look at it, it seemed so odd that it made no sense whatsoever.

Libertita stood beside him. _She had been raised, almost, by Mryori. His mother._ She probably knew her better than he did.

He swallowed, barely daring to voice his question. "So what happened next?"

Libby sighed. "What always happens to you and all those like you. No offense meant, but your family line-that includes you, your father, your sister, Scorpio, and Miriam and Zariah, who both live here-tends to get angry. Like, really easily. Particularly when insulted. Well, actually if you insult most people here, the result can be dire, but that's inconsequential. Anyway, both got mad. Really mad. They started flinging some pretty hurtful insults and acting all immature, and _then_ Anacaona decides it's a good idea to step in. Like, putting them both in a time-out. Actually, she sent Scorpio back here and managed to talk Hades down. They compromised: she worked some of her soul magic and converted her sheut into a cat, which she sent to the underworld with him, her ka now resides in the Egyptian afterlife, and her ba," at this she tapped the statue. "Her ba resides here, along with her ren and her ib."

Nico stared at her, confused. "Okay, the first part of that statement I got, but the second part didn't make much sense."

Libby exhaled exasperatedly. "I really shouldn't be having to explain these things to a child of the underworld, after all. Particularly not the son of Mryori."

"I don't see why-,"

"Let me make things simple. It's an Egyptian concept. They believed that there were five parts to the soul. Your Ba was the part of your soul that could travel the Duat in sleep. Your Ka is your life force, the part that will reside in the Afterlife. Your Ib is the record of your good and bad deeds, which determines whether or not you get into the Afterlife. Your Ren," at this she cast her eyes down. "It is your name. Your secret name, the sum of your experiences. To know one's secret name can give you extreme power over that person. To heal, or to obliterate from existence entirely."

Nico shivered. That sounded very ominous to him.

"And then, there is the Sheut," Libby continued. "That is your shadow, the shadow you cast on this earth. It is a silhouette of the entire soul. In essence, the shadow you cast is the affect you have on the world."

"Odd," Nico commented.

Libby shrugged. "It is in our order to accept all as possibilities. We do not force any religion, any particular views, only morals, which aren't even forced."

"Guess you've got your perfect little utopia here, don't you?" Nico asked, a slight bit of sarcasm creeping into his voice.

Libertita regarded him solemnly. "No. In any society where a child can be murdered ruthlessly, no regret, leaving siblings behind to mourn is no utopia. We may provide tolerance, but the outer threats, namely Lilac, provide enough of a threat to prevent such a thing."

His blood ran cold. "A child?"

"Yes." Her voice was colder than the north wind. "A younger sibling of mine. She was to me what I was to Mryori: a protégé, an apprentice, a sister, a surrogate daughter. And we were forced to watch, all of us, as Lilac pulsed her terrible power through her-she had the appearance of a nine-year-old, you know? She did it, in front of all of us."

Nico knew. He knew the loss of a sibling didn't fade. It grew easier, perhaps, but never lighter. It was a forced burden that never lightened, but could only be adapted to.

She stared at him, her piercing emerald gaze almost comforting. "Anacaona's offer still stands. You will always be welcome within this place. Your companions-none of them understand. You are destined to be here, it is your birthright. They have attachments to people, places. You have none of those. Your family lived long ago, and your sister is far easier to adapt. You have more of your mother than you realize. Her bravery, courage, determination. When Anacaona saw you, at Lilac's place, even a passing glance, she saw the ghost of your mother across your face. It will be your choice in the end," she continued. "but know you will always have a place in this order."

He nodded to her, thoughts still in turmoil, but slightly clearer.

"Any more questions?" She asked.

"Yes," he said. "How do I find your order if it is the path I choose?"

Libby smiled. "There are a great many ways such could happen, but the easiest is this." She took a small tabby cat statue from her pocket and handed it to him. "Within this is trapped a great amount of transportation magic. Smash it, and it will bring you to the edge of the forest that rings our fields in reality. I will then send someone to retrieve you."

Ha nodded to her and placed the statuette in his pocket. Libby blinked.

"Well, why not?" Leo asked. Nico jumped, surprised. Libby turned towards the doors on the other end of the courtyard.

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of Rick Riordan's characters or storyline.**

**So, I finished writing this story and wanted to celebrate by posting this really long chapter. I am planning a couple sequels to this after finishing posting it, and a lot of OC one shots. Expect daily updates, and PLEASE review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs**

Annabeth's POV

"She chose not to."

"Wait, how is that possible?" Annabeth asked.

Libby spun on her heel, evidently annoyed. "Magic."

Annabeth looked unimpressed. "Explain further."

"If I wanted a ton of questions, I would have agreed to explain the theory of kinesis to Torah." Libby grumbled, barely making a sound as she walked.

"Why are you suddenly so short-tempered?"

"Magic." Annabeth was now getting annoyed with the unresponsive Liberite.

"So who's Torah?"

Libby spun, eyes blazing. "Daughter of Athena, it would be _wise_ for you to retain your curiosity."

"A curiosity killed the cat type of thing?" Leo quipped.

"You don't even want to know how fast I can kill you. I did study the theory of necrokinesis, after all,"

"You said that was a forbidden talent!"

She stalked along the hallway, to the doors at the end. There was a flash of light at the end, and Jessica appeared at the door. "Hello, I am Jessica but call me Jessie have a nice day and I'm sorry I can't let you in."

"Let them in, Jessica," A male voice rang out from behind the door.

"Okay, first of all, this place is probably worse, politically, than congress." Libby said as Jessie made a face and dematerialized. "Do not talk, and try not to die, because as the Remembrance grows nearer, Anacaona's control over Scorpio wanes."

"What's the remembrance?" Annabeth asked.

Without warning, she was pinned against the wall. "You ask your petty questions, yet you have no notion of when to stop!"

"Annabeth!" Percy ran at Libby.

She flicked her hand backwards, and a great wind blew all the other demigods against the wall, fading a moment later.

She hissed in Annabeth's face, and Annabeth recoiled from the pure fury in her eyes. "Annabeth Chase, the Remembrance is the day us Liberites gather to mourn those lost to us in the eternal fight against Lilac. We mourn Mryori the Loyal, Alexis the Innocent, Laurel," her voice wavered. "Laurel the brave, and all others who have fallen in service of our eternal order." She released Annabeth. "If you had spoken like that in the Council chamber, you would not be alive to contemplate your mistake."

She pushed through the doors, and the demigods followed, after some hesitation, Percy by Annabeth's side.

The council was definitely powerful. The six that had stormed Lilac's base were against the far wall. Scorpio wore black leather armor, edged in emerald, with an emerald scorpion in the middle of the chest plate. His long black cloak seemed to dissolve into shadows, and his shoulder length black hair fell around his face.

Anacaona stood next to him, her blue-green silk dress rippling like waves. She had one green-blue and one golden eye, both of which were cat eyes. There was a pedestal on either side of her; on one there was a silver and blue ring, on the other there was an odd curved piece of metal with a handle.

Then there was the girl who identified herself as Alida. She had her wings spread, and edged in gold, and she had exchanged her breastplate and skirt for a yellow linen chiton.

Next to her, there was a boy who didn't resemble her at all-dark brown hair to her blond, darker blue eyes-who wore a golden toga sliced with a lightning bolt. A white lion lay at his feet.

Next, there was a boy who looked a good deal younger than the rest. He also wore a toga, but in a similar style to Anacaona's dress, where water appeared to spread across it in ripples. His hair was lighter than Lion dude's, and his eyes were blue, although one appeared to be greener than the other.

The last one was a slight girl, long black dress, blue cloak with sparkling stars swirling over it. She had large, diamond-shaped wings which did not appear to be of any known bird. Black hair fell to her shoulders, and her eyes were a deep blue with stars in them.

Libby stepped forward and knelt at Anacaona's feet. She sighed, grabbed Libby's arm, and yanked her up. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?"

"You are my superior, Anacaona. The bane of Lilac-,"

"I don't want to be anyone's bane," Anacaona stared her down. "And I am not superior to you."

Libby shrugged. "As you wish, milady." She growled.

"You two can argue about your position later," the girl on the end said. "There is, however, the small matter of assisting these demigods.

"I thought this was a debate on whether or not to kill these demigods?" Scorpio stated. Everybody sighed.

"Do you just say that because everyone would really like it if you didn't?" Alida spoke fairly. "I mean, think about your girlfrie-,"

"Oh, for the last time, we're not together!" Scorpio hissed at the same time as Anacaona scooped up the ring from the pedestal and shot Alida a poisonous glare. "Unlike you and Mineo!"

THAT got a response. What must've been the plumbing in the wall exploded, because the entire left wall caved in and a rush of water poured out. Alida flicked two bronze throwing darts into her hands and they began to crackle with electricity. Libertita created a glowing golden bubble around the demigods with a flick of her eyes and an 'I told you so' expression on her face.

Scorpio smirked. Alida narrowed her eyes and threw one of her darts, another replacing it immediately. He spun quickly away from it and glanced at Anacaona. "I want it noted that she made the first move!"

"Technically, you made the first move by insulting her," Anacaona pointed out.

"After she insulted me!" Scorpio made a tugging motion, and all the shadows were drawn to him. They swirled in his hand into what looked like a scorpion tail, which he lashed at her.

She dodged to the side and summoned a flurry of wind, which quickly escalated into a tornado. Anacaona exchanged a look with lion dude, and she spun the ring on her finger. It transformed into a silver trident. She stalked into the battle, shoving Scorpio back, while Lion dude wrestled Alida to her place.

"If you two have finished your juvenile argument, it is necessary that we complete this council meeting," Anacaona hissed through gritted teeth.

"A vote, I suppose. To kill or not to kill?" Scorpio spoke wryly.

Anacaona threw up her hands. "Why not? Cassiopia?"

The girl in black stepped forward cupped her hands. Darkness gathered to them in a perfect sphere. She then cast it at the east wall.

"This side wishes to assist." She stepped back into position. Mineo was next.

"This side wishes to remain removed from demigod affairs." He cast his sphere of blue-green energy towards the wall with the door.

"Isonar," Cassiopia prompted. Lion dude stepped forward and summoned a sphere of electricity to his hand and cast it east.

Alida was next. She flew forth a few feet. "This side wishes to kill!"

She hurled her sphere at the west side of the hall. Annabeth prayed Scorpio and Anacaona wouldn't vote similarly. They were probably far too powerful to fight.

But she needn't have worried. Anacaona cast hers to assist, and Scorpio, surprisingly, to remain removed.

"A clear majority." Cassiopia glared at Alida.

Alida looked at the door and smirked. Pointing, she said, "Looks like you've got mail."

A small black bird with a red and yellow blotch on its wings fluttered in far too fast for what seemed possible. Cassiopia looked worried.

A few feet from her, the bird transformed into a girl in armor similar to Scorpio's and the wings of the bird, although many times larger.

"Lilac!" The girl shrieked in a shrill voice. There was a red arrow slicing through her wing, blood dripping down the feathers and onto the floor.

Isonar approached the slight, petit girl who looked about twelve. She shied away from him, barely wincing even as she used her injured wing to fly.

Isonar reached for her wing, snapping the arrow and withdrawing it easily. He turned his gaze to Scorpio and tossed the piece of the arrow with the head. There was a dark substance smeared on it. Libby came over to the demigods.

"Here's the plan: we're slipping out the back exit. If we reach the ArchWays in time, you can use those to get back to your ship. If not, we can take shelter until either Scorpio finds us-,"

"No!" Annabeth protested vehemently. "Not doing that again!" Most of the other demigods nodded in agreement.

Libby sighed. "Or we find an artifact for me to open a portal. Either way, we have to leave now."

"How, though?" Annabeth asked.

Libby went over to the wall and removed an amulet from around her neck that hadn't been there a moment before. She tossed it against the wall and a passage opened. "Here, there is always another way out."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

Nico's POV

The tunnel was dark and gloomy, but Nico didn't care. He preferred the darkness.

The other demigods did not feel the same way.

"Couldn't you put torches along this tunnel or something?" grumbled Piper.

"Or let me light my fire?"

"No, and no." Libby's shape was barely visible. "Most who use this tunnel have night vision, and besides, light attracts life."

"Well, can you at least summon some light of some kind?" Percy asked.

"Sure, because it works that way." Her voice was infused in sarcasm. "There's just seventy more feet of tunnel, surely you can last that long?"

They fell silent, more or less, save for the occasional muttered complaint. Then Hazel spoke up. "Who was that girl? The one that was shot?"

"That, actually, was your half-sister, Miriam, demigod daughter of Pluto. She's sixteen, although she doesn't look it, and she's a wicked fighter. Although, if you'd seen her a year and a half ago, she would've been way different."

"Why?" Hazel asked.

"Lilac stole her wings. It's why she aimed that barb at Aristotle earlier, she illustrated all too well what a tragedy it is for one of the Winged to lose their wings. All I hope is the poison doesn't have any nasty intent."

"Um, it's poison," Leo said. "Doesn't poison always have a nasty intent?"

"Yes, but as Scorpio's 'mother' is the goddess of scorpions, so he's pretty good at poisons. If he can't diffuse it into something less harmful, then it classifies as nastier-than-usual intent."

She stopped so suddenly that Leo bumped into her, and Piper bumped into him, and so on.

She hit the ceiling really hard, hard enough to make the trapdoor fly several feet. She leapt straight from the tunnel to the ground above, whereas there was a ladder that the demigods used to climb out. Libby was talking to three little kids, two girls and one boy.

"You have to stay out of the way of the fighting," She was saying. "It's dangerous."

"It's dangerous for you, too." The bolder of the girls spoke first.

"Scott, Abby, Mali," Libby said gently. "Remember Lexi?"

"We'll be fine," protested Scott. Mali tugged at his sleve.

"I've called Madilyn," Libby said. "Just stay here."

She stalked off, followed by the demigods. Scott called after her "I didn't get to be Mr. Mistofilees 'cause I was a coward!"

"Mali, you're in charge till Madilyn comes!" Libby called back in response. "And I would be pleased if you let me know who you learned those words from, Abby!"

They followed a path along the base of some cliffs when suddenly Libby tensed. Every muscle in her body looked taut, and dress burned into armor in a few seconds, sword materializing in her hand.

As if her sudden change had been a battle cry, many red armored soldiers burst from the trees. They were still several yards away, and Nico counted over thirty. None were spies, as Libby had taken all with her to the order, and many carried archery equipment along with them as well. They understood that this was one of those times when they were supposed to fight. They drew their various weapons, and suddenly felt a lightness that they hadn't before noticed. Nico realized that she had nullified the spell that had made their magic void in response to the threat.

When the warriors reached them, Libertita immediately sprang into combat, dodging arrows, swinging her sword and leaping and using her five hundred years of gymnastic ability.

They were really experienced as far as battle went, he thought, as he clanged blades, but he was holding his own. That is, until they stepped back and the red beams of light sliced through the air around them.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, as he knew he couldn't let the red beams touch him, his next strike was too slow to prevent the soldier from knocking him back. The red beams advanced, and he outstretched a hand.

_If I really am the son of Mryori, do I also have the potential for kinetic magic? Now would be a great time to find out._

Shadows burst from his fingers, pushing back the red beams. He managed to get to his feet and get his sword up to fend off the relentless strikes of the soldier while the shadows burst across the red beams of light, converting them into darker magics. He remembered what Scorpio had said about her converting shadow magic into her chaos magic. _Then I guess I'm turning it back._

The soldier looked thunderstruck that he had managed to convert their magic into shadows, and in that moment, he struck, hitting him with the flat of his blade, the black iron disfiguring the helmet underneath and knocking him out. He looked around. Percy and Jason were both extremely skilled and powerful, and were both holding their own, Frank had turned into a lion, and was attacking them with ferocity, Reyna was nimble enough to dodge, and Hazel-

He charged. Three soldiers had converged on Hazel, and she was barely managing to keep away from their magic and blades. He took one down from behind and slashed at another, who slipped to the side and clashed with him in combat.

This chaos magic was much more powerful and overwhelming, caging him, so he darted through the shadows to behind the soldier, gasping for breath, the sudden weight of exhaustion partially drowned by adrenaline.

But he sensed movement at his back and spun, barely managing to deflect the powerful blow aimed at him. His arms stung from the impact and he stumbled backwards, only just managing to stay standing.

The strikes came relentlessly, quicker than he could keep up with. He let himself go numb to the relentless rhythm-_duck, parry, strike, dodge, jump, roll_-and just tried to keep up. He fell back against the ground, pinned against the cliffs. The energy circled him, but he couldn't find the strength. He saw the others either pinned or tiring. Libby still fought like a whirlwind, but she was bleeding from a cut across her forehead, and had to keep swiping blood away from her eyes.

The soldier that had him pinned raised his sword, ready to strike. He braced himself for the inevitable blow only to have a weight on his chest drive the air out of his lungs. He opened his eyes to see a large black cat-he recognized Penumbra from the memory-on her hind legs, lashing out at his attacker, with shadows lashing out of her claws and the kitten Umbrea beside her, who started licking his face. Eww. She had an odd collar on, with five little crystalline tubes running through it, parallel. He traced a finger over it and realized that the liquids flowing through it were waters of the five rivers.

He jumped to his feet, Penumbra leaping to his shoulder carrying Umbrea like a kitten, which she was. He stared in disbelief at the battlefield. The tables had turned.

There was a redheaded girl riding a russet horse with cats sitting next to her, as well Lukas with a nearly identical girl beside him-same blond hair, blue eyes, chiseled features, different expression-she looked extremely haughty. There was also a solidly built girl with a large, burly gray-blue cat on her shoulder, whom she shared golden copper eyes.

They literally started to dominate the soldiers. Seriously. Violently. Passionately. It was a matter of moments before they were all knocked out or dead.

"Libby!" The redhead stood up in her stirrups.

"Madilyn," Libby sighed, exhausted. "Lukas. Zilya. Natasha," she acknowledged, dipping her head. "Thank you."

"Oh, don't mention it," Madilyn said breezily. She sounded Irish. "We were just coming this way to heed your call to protect the children-at least, I was. We wouldn't have left you to die. But you may wish to get to your ArchWay soon. Lilac is focusing her attacks there."

Libby cursed in several different languages, calling Lilac lots of nasty names in English, Greek, Latin, and Italian, as well as several others he didn't recognize.

"Wow. Mental note: never tick off the linguist." Madilyn muttered, the corners of her lips twitching up.

Libby shrugged. "It would be far more deadly to tick off someone more powerful."

Madilyn nodded. "Also, if you have time, evacuate the Reclusivists. They don't like me, but they respect you."

"Dually noted." Libby continued along the path, while Madilyn broke her horse into a canter.

"Who are the Reclusivists?" Annabeth resumed her role of peppering Libby with questions.

"Well, you'll find out, it's on our way."

Nico tuned them out and walked alongside his sister. "You ok?"

She was breathing heavily, but she nodded. "Thank you for saving me. How did you do that… thing with the shadows?"

"I don't really know," Nico said, only partially lying. He had his suspicions about what had happened, but nothing concrete, as he'd never done that kind of magic before. "I guess it was instinctive." Another half-truth.

"What do you think of all this?" Hazel gestured around, meaning the RuleBreakers.

He hesitated before answering. "I guess I trust them. It makes a lot of sense, and besides, you and I both understand what it is to be an outcast."

Hazel nodded, and they continued to walk in companionable silence along the path, until the sense of peace was interrupted.

A boy stepped onto the path. He looked, for lack of a better word, wild. Feral. His brown hair was tangled and his medium skin was scarred, some thin like thorns, some long, as if he had been clawed by a cat. His face might've been handsome if he wasn't so scarred and gaunt. He looked like he was starving, yet he was obviously muscular and strong. His eyes were dark and angry, maybe, along with being untamed. He wore tattered jeans and a ripped t-shirt.

"Chalice, dominant male of the Reclusivists." Libby inclined her head, her eyes dipping to the ground. He remained staring forcefully at her for a moment before dipping his own head. Asserting his dominance, Nico realized.

"Libertita," he acknowledged. "You bring news?"

"Lilac comes. You may wish to evacuate your people." Libby kept her gaze downcast.

He nodded brusquely and melted back into the forest.

"Don't you heal these reclusivists?" Piper asked, horrified.

"Those are children of Libertas, like myself and the siblings of mine that you've met so far." She sighed. "I guess the best way to describe it is like feral cats and housecats. Housecats know and like people, yet retain their independence. Feral cats are wild and if a person approaches them, they'll lash out. The Reclusivists have either been persecuted, tortured, or betrayed by people so many times that they lose all love of the human race. They live like a colony of feral cats, hunting for their food and fighting in nonlethal yet harmful battles for dominance. You noticed his scars?"

"Kinda hard to miss," Annabeth said sarcastically.

She continued. "He didn't get to be their leader by vote. He got those scars from his dominance battles. He's angry, young, and violent, and he's not even a conventional leader, as they are more of a loose knit group than a society. We give them protection, safety, and allow them to live their normal life. There are some who are more inclined towards our order, but are kept by family or lovers remaining. They may give their children to be raised in our order, because their parents wish them to have a better life. Abby and Mali? Their parents were children of Libertas formerly living in Ethiopia who came to be Reclusivists and died a couple years ago."

"But since they all share parentage-," Percy started, a look of extreme disturbance on his face.

She shrugged. "Cats don't consider familial ties in the same way people do. Actually, I believe there are people betting on if Zilya and Lukas are together, and they're identical twins. Either way, they don't have immortality, the Reclusivists, but there is enough ethnic diversity among them that inbreeding isn't a problem. We manage to mutually exist, but they really dislike people. If I had stepped any closer to Chalice, he would've attacked. They set the distance, and if you deviate from their wishes, you're toast."

Frank swallowed. "Can we please change this subject before it gets any more disturbing?"

Libby snorted. "If you call this disturbing, sure. Disturbing is what Lilac did to Scorpio after he refused to join her. Disturbing is how she killed Katherine and Calitha. Talking about Liberite behavior is not disturbing."

The path, a simple dirt trail that enabled people to walk two-by-two was narrowing, so Nico stepped back behind Hazel, eyes scanning the trees for more soldiers. He didn't realize how high up they were until they came to the cliff.

Standing below them had been twelve grand ArchWays to different places in the world. Six of them were gone, crushed beneath the waves of soldiers after being disintegrated by the red energy. They attacked relentlessly while a small group of RuleBreakers tried to keep them at bay.

"It's not enough," Libby muttered, and Nico was inclined to agree. There were about six RuleBreakers, separated from each other. She studied the ArchWays. "Okay, from here you have the option of going to Hawaii, South Africa, Poland, Chile, Australia, and Spain. Fortunately for you, I speak all of the languages of those countries.

"How?" Percy asked.

"I am a linguist. I speak Latin, Greek, ancient Egyptian, Demotic, all of the modern languages derived from Latin, and a lot more."

"How old are you?" asked Piper incredulously.

"I was born to a now-famous explorer in fourteen-ninety. That means I'm five hundred twenty three."

She got a lot of shocked stares. Throwing up her hands, she said, "Yeah, back then it was still socially acceptable to drown people for being witches, or burn them at the stake. I learned how to fake my death pretty quickly."

They stared at her. Finally, Annabeth said, "Spain is closest to where we want to go."

"Excellent. It's my birth country." Libby said. "Only one problem: that's the one about to be destroyed."

"Well, we storm it then!" Jason said.

"Not that simple. Jessie is guarding that one with Khalfani. Alisha and Aristotle are on the front line too."

"Well, first of all, how do we get down there? I can fly-,"

"Nope. You need to disguise yourselves as a small, agile, nimble, animal that always lands on its feet."

"You want to turn us into cats." Percy said disbelievingly.

"Glad you approve," Libby said. "I can stop time while you get used to your new form, but holding time is impossible for me while taking offensive action."

Before anyone could say anything she blinked to stop time and raised her hands, murmuring a spell.

And suddenly it felt _right_ to Nico. Natural. Slender and strong. He looked down with glowing eyes that seemed to notice every detail and nearly jumped back. He had luxurious, long black fur, large tufted paws, and delicate black pads, from which extended dark supple claws. He felt a rush of power and strength, utter confidence coupled with the steely energy.

There was a strangled sort of mew next to him. He turned to see Hazel, who had fur at least as long as his and was a golden Persian. He recognized her eyes.

She didn't look nearly at ease in her new form as he felt. She kept turning around, trying to adapt to seeing, and sounding like a malfunctioning lawn mower trying to talk.

He looked at the others. He knew there was no possible way that he should be able to know these breeds, but at the same time he seemed to be able to recognize them innately.

Percy was a Turkish Van, white with a black head and tail, as well as a couple black spots on his back and the same green eyes.

Frank was a large Red Maine Coon, which was essentially orange. Annabeth was a soft grey-blue, it's called blue in the Cat Fancy-and was a Korat, a small breed. Piper was a dove grey-pink Javanese, and Jason was a golden California Spangled. Reyna was a lavender Balinese, and Leo was a Red Tabby Oriental. He realized that he was a black Persian, with a lustrous raven coat.

There was something that sounded suspiciously like a feline version of a chuckle behind him. He spun, light on his paws, to see a lavender tabby Persian perched on a rock behind him. She looked as comfortable in this form as he felt, whereas all of the others looked unsure and unsteady.

"Why am I _FLUFFY?!" _Percy shrieked, being the first one to figure out how to talk.

"Oh, you're a Turkish Van," Libby said. "From Lake Van in Turkey. It's the only cat that tends to like water. The spell externalizes your soul in cat form."

"Not as fluffy as you and your brother, though, Hazel," Percy added, curling his tail smugly.

Nico stretched, yawning. He really wanted to nap in a sunbeam on a warm surface-,"

Wait. Focus. Archway. Sunbeam.

Being a cat was totally messing with his mind.


	13. Chapter 13

**This chapter is dedicated to Reyna, as it is in Reyna's POV. No, I am not talking about the same Reyna. You know someone is obsessed with PJO when they name the kittens that they are fostering Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arrellano and Zoe Nightshade. I really like cats, as you may have noticed from my fanfiction. Let me just say, Reyna the kitten was definitely named correctly. Two weeks later, I still had the scars from when she scratched me. I decided to upload this now because someone had told me in a review that they wanted to hear more from Reyna, and I definitely agree that she is a great character and needs more time in the spotlight, both in the books and on fanfiction. Only problem is, I am trying to get all nine characters in, and this really only focuses on Nico. But I had this written already, so I decided to put it up. This is actually the last real chapter, although I will upload an epilogue, but I'm planning two sequals and a lot of one shots.**

**Sorry for the really long author's note. Enjoy the last full chapter of RuleBreakers**

Reyna's POV

It was definitely odd, being a cat, she thought.

The liquid power coursing through her muscles was exhilarating, and, okay, maybe a tiny bit addictive. Or a lot addictive. She felt more confident than she ever had, even leading the entire legion which, due to her parentage, was kind of natural.

But being a cat was way different. It made her understand more of how Libby acted so strong in the midst of an intimidating situation. If she always had this power coursing through her veins, she would probably be pretty undaunted too. She wished she could keep this power when she returned to human form.

She had amassed a healthy amount of respect for Libby in the short amount of time that she'd known her. She obviously was brave, intelligent, and compassionate.

Libby leapt off of her rock. "Ok, here's the plan: we jump off the cliff and head for the ArchWay closest to the army."

"That's it," Leo said disbelievingly. "You expect us to just jump off that cliff and-,"

His whiskers burst into flames. He tried to bat them out with his paws, muffling the rest of his statement.

"No, I expect you to trust the cat to land after jumping off this cliff," Libby retorted, padding to the edge on velvety feet. "If you do not, I shall push you off the cliff and you shall be forced to trust the cat to land. Understood?"

There was a whole lot of nervous gulping and swallowing. No one really doubted her word.

"How high is it?" asked Frank uncertainly.

"Three stories. Not high at all."

"Excuse me?" Annabeth stared at her. "Since when is three stories not high at all?"

Libby stared at her scornfully. "Below two stories can be fatal if a cat can't flip to its feet fast enough. Six and up are increasingly fatal due to the height. This is nothing to the time I jumped off of a twenty story building in human form and broke my ankle."

"You fell-," Reyna was cut off.

"I jumped," she growled. "There's a difference."

She turned and leaped off the cliff. Reyna craned her neck to see the tabby cat leaping in just a few bounds of twenty feet, pushing off the wall towards the ground.

"Not difficult looking," She jumped when Nico spoke up. She was slightly disturbed at how different and at ease he looked in cat form. He paced to the edge and scrabbled down halfway before making a long, graceful leap to the ground.

In the end they all jumped, Leo complaining and Percy whining about all of his fur.

When they reached the bottom, Libby set of at a run, and as soon as Reyna lengthened her stride to the leaping dash, following her, she felt a rush of speed and adrenaline overcoming her.

The first red warrior stood in their path, and it seemed just child's play to avoid his clumsily swinging sword, to dodge, weaving between his legs at top speed. They wove their way through the field of soldiers as easily as if they carried no swords and stood as stationary obstacles.

It felt too soon that they came to the ArchWay. Reyna was still far too jazzed from the exhilarating run to want to slow down, but as Libby came to a stop next to two of the RuleBreakers her spell melted off, returning them to their human form which felt so imprisoning and confining.

Libby was talking to the tall, bronze skinned girl with the long bronze sword which was oddly curved, and had one gold and one grey eye. Next to her stood Aristotle, firing arrows with unerring accuracy.

"Alisha, how will you hold them off?"

"Libby, I have been fighting since long before your father-,"

"I thought we had an agreement not to mention her father?" Aristotle said, raising his eyes to her.

Alisha threw up her hands. Everyone avoided her sword. "So now we have to avoid her father, Mryori, Laurel, Alexis-,"

Libby growled. Alisha stepped back, tan speckled wings fluttering nervously. As she turned back to the battle she muttered to herself, "I really wish I was a larger breed of falcon. Kestrels are tiny.

Libby gestured for the demigods to go through the ArchWay, glimmering with power. They did, one by one.

Right before Reyna was supposed to go-she had kept to the back and was the last one-Libby turned. A wave of red energy was hurled at the ArchWay. Libby shoved Reyna through and jumped out of the way right before it made contact.

Reyna tumbled into sunlight. They were on top of a cathedral, and Libby wasn't there. The small blip in reality where the ArchWay had once existed was gone.

"Okay, so now we have to make it through Spain to Greece with no help whatsoever." Annabeth summed it up.

"Or you could look behind you." They spun immediately to see Libby dressed up in her armor.

"How did you get here?" They were all astounded.

"This is my homeland. Where I was born. It's fairly easy for me to get to Spain from anywhere on this plan of existence."

She strode over to them. "If this were fourteen ninety three, I could call in some favors, but everyone I used to know is pretty dead or immortal. I'm not good with horses, camels, or ostriches (it's amazing how odd truth and dare can go in our Order) but I do have modes of transportation that are enchanted to go through the Duat."

She pulled a silver charm bracelet off her wrist. "A car. A boat. A flying boat. A raft. Pity most modes of transportation relied on the river in Egypt."

"Well, there's not much water around," Jason pointed out.

"A couple hundred years ago, there was a well right there." Libby pointed to the square. "They tried to drown me in it."

She detached a single charm from the bracelet and tossed it at the ground, where it burst into being as a flimsy reed boat that hovered a few feet above the ground. "All aboard."

The boat dipped and wove as they climbed on. She closed her eyes and began to murmur, purple light weaving among the reeds as a wind pushed the sail and moved the boat with astonishing speed. The purple light grew and infused in the boat.

And then, it seemed to pass through the very fabric of reality. When Reyna looked over the side, they were travelling at terrific speeds over landscapes that seemed unreal. Music played over the sound system-the only sound in the eerie stillness.

Libby looked ghostly, with the purple light weaving between her fingers and writhing around her as she continued her incantation.

They slipped back through the violet veil of the other world Libby had called the Duat. The sunlight was a slap in the face and she tried to blink the afterimages away. She suddenly realized that the sun was no further down in the sky than when they had been captured.

"What the… what day is it?" Percy asked, voicing her question.

"The same day, hour, and minute that you left." At their obvious astonishment, she added, "Playing with time can make things very wrong, but a concept that the RuleBreakers have long supported is the practice of slowing time to the point where entire days can pass in the space of a moment in our land, depending on our whims."

Libby stepped back. "Continue your quest, your journey. I ask merely that you do not mention our order to your fellow demigods or anyone else. Our safety is important, but not worth messing up your memories to maintain our sense of solitude. Scorpio begs to differ, but Demigod RuleBreakers have always had authority over demigod affairs pertaining to our order since the time of Mryori."

She dipped her head to them and in a flash of light, became a cat again and leapt away.

Almost all were left wondering if they would ever have dealings with the devious Lilac or the moral RuleBreakers ever again.


	14. Epilogue

Epilogue

Time: Two weeks later

Place: Woods of Camp Half-Blood

Point of view: Nico di Angelo

Stuff that's happened: The world was saved, most people lived, and the destruction was kept to a minimum. I'm not going through the final battle, I don't even want to imagine it till Blood of Olympus comes out.

Nico walked into the forest, stalking furtively into the shadows. He pulled the cat statuette from his pocket, examining the finely etched lines and sculpted features. Made of colored glass in the shape of a red tabby, the varied shades swirled together in an almost hypnotic pattern, a promise of acceptance, of peace, of a new start.

He was only supposed to smash it, she had said. He would be drawn to the order and become one of them. Like his mother. He could feel so clearly the life he would have. He would stay fourteen forever, learn to be as powerful as Scorpio, and learn to be as agile, quick, and catlike as the Liberites.

He could see it, in his mind's eye. He would leave his sister, he would have to, but he could watch her. She had friends, wasn't so antisocial, and people accepted her. He could find someone to be.

He raised the statuette, ready to smash it into a rock, when he felt a familiar life force behind him, on the other side of the clearing. He mentally sighed. He had guessed that Jason would be keeping tabs on him in case he really did try to leave like he had said he would after Croatia.

He spun to face the son of Jupiter, swiftly concealing the figurine in his pocket.

"You don't have to leave," Jason said quietly. He mentally rolled his eyes; of course he had to leave, it was what his mother had wanted for him and it was a chance at a better life. But there was absolutely no chance he was explaining that to Jason Grace.

He assessed the situation at hand. Ever since he'd been a cat, it was like he had kept some of the attributes, the details which jumped out at him, the things he noticed about other people, and the relaxed, slightly more placid way he thought. His immediate instinct was to snap at Jason, to just leave before this could turn into some forced counseling session, but the feline part of him mentally took a step back to inspect that idea, which fell apart. Yes, he wanted to leave without Jason interfering, but he didn't want to provoke him into thinking he would do something rash, like suicide, for instance, which would cause him to interfere.

"Jason, I need to leave." Nico raised his hands in front of him in a calming gesture. "Just tell Hazel that I love her and I promise to see her someday."

"Tell her yourself." Jason folded his arms. "If she means anything to you, you should say good-bye in person."

Nico sighed visibly. "I can't do that, and you know it. I require solitude, and I can't really deny her."

Jason's eyes narrowed. "You seem different," he noted. "What happened?"

He was far too perceptive.

"Being a cat affected me," he said neutrally.

Unfortunately for him, Jason was nothing if not intelligent, and as realization dawned in his eyes, Nico cursed inwardly.

"You're going to go to the RuleBreakers." Jason's voice was soft, almost disbelieving.

"Does it matter to you?" Nico snapped. "Is it any of your business?"

"How will you get to them?" Jason asked.

"I have the means." Nico spun on his heel and stalked away, hoping that the foolish demigod wouldn't follow him.

Thankfully, Jason didn't.

He pulled the statue back out and hit it against a rock. Nothing happened. He glared at it. He tried again, hitting it with a little more force. Again nothing. He smashed it at the rock with all of his strength. It didn't shatter, but it released a red-orange tabby swirl of light which enveloped him.

He could feel it drawing on his own power, a decidedly disconcerting sensation, and it turned from red tabby to silver tabby, black and silver swirls guiding his shadow travel which didn't tap from his energy but from the energy of the statue.

The cloud dissipated from around him and he blinked, in the middle of another, different forest. The statue had turned a shimmering white and released a plume of white energy which coiled through the trees, presumably to alert her.

He didn't wait long.

After about five minutes, he heard an odd whisper of wind through the trees, followed by an excited shriek.

Two shapes darted out of the trees. Winged. They were two of the Winged that he had seen when they had attacked Lilac's base, the ones that had stayed together. One of them was Miriam, the one who had gotten shot by the arrow. The other was in a white underdress with a yellow overdress embroidered with orange and red flowers. She had wings in beautiful shades of orange, red, and yellow, and long red-orange hair and warm amber eyes. Her hair was braided into a crown and woven with flowers in the same colors.

Both dipped their heads to him, and he returned the gesture.

The brightly clad one spoke first. "I am Zariah, daughter of Hades, and this is my sister Miriam, daughter of Pluto."

"I'm Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. I seek to join your order," he said.

"Come, then." Miriam spoke, her voice soft and delicate, fragile almost. "Libby sent us."

He followed the two as they silently wove their way through the trees, on foot this time. When the magnificent white temple came into view, a figure standing on the roof jumped down and approached them.

"Nico di Angelo, son of Mryori and Hades," Libby said. "Welcome to a new beginning."

**So here's the end of RuleBreakers. I aready have the first chapter of Belonging, the sequel, written, and I am actually planning three more books now. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed or otherwise supported this story. Belonging will be posted soon.**


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